An EU commissioner has riled up long-running tensions by saying that Gibraltar is Spanish whereas disregarding hopes for a Brexit deal forward of a June deadline.
“Gibraltar español,” Margaritis Schinas mentioned, when requested concerning the problem at a briefing in Seville.
The slogan means “Gibraltar is Spanish” and goes again to the Franco period, and is commonly mentioned by those that declare the territory belongs to Spain.
Referred to as the Rock, Gibraltar is a British Abroad Territory and metropolis situated on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
It was surrendered to Britain in 1712 below the Treaty of Utrecht and has not been a part of Spain since then.
The UK and EU are negotiating to safe a deal for a post-Brexit widespread journey space between Spain and Gibraltar earlier than the European Parliament elections in June.
If the deal is just not struck earlier than June, Gibraltar may face full border controls on motion to and from Spain.
Nonetheless, as Spain has not demanded sovereignty over Gibraltar as a part of Brexit negotiations, Commissioner Schinas’s feedback have been extensively criticised.
José Manuel Albares, Spain’s overseas minister, mentioned the remarks are “very unlucky and incomprehensible”.
He added that Commissioner Schinas £is under no circumstances concerned within the file of the withdrawal settlement regarding Gibraltar“.
“It’s Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, with whom I’ve additionally had a dialog about it, and we each, each the commissioner who is aware of and handles that negotiation and myself, agree that the negotiations are progressing at a very good tempo,” he mentioned.
“And I’ve additionally conveyed to Commissioner Schinas that, moreover his statements being unlucky, I hope that sooner or later solely the commissioner in command of that negotiation, which is Maros Sefcovic, would be the one to touch upon it.”
Chatting with Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE on Thursday night time, he mentioned: “
Mr Albares and Maros Sefcovic, the European Fee vice-president who’s main the Gibraltar talks, issued a joint assertion condemning the remarks.
“The negotiations between the EU and the UK relating to Gibraltar are progressing as deliberate,” it mentioned. “We’re getting into a delicate stage of the negotiations.”
Mr Albares mentioned that Commissioner Schinas’s response instructed the overseas minister “it was not his intention” and he “regretted it”.
