Theresa May has come under fire over the Brexit deal – which is due to be signed off in Brussels by the EU27 on Sunday. A future deal on the relationship between the UK and EU is said to have been agreed “in principal”. But the EU is said to be ‘furious’ at Spain for holding up the talks, over its endeavours to claim the rights to Gibraltar. The country has been steadfast in its refusal to accept Mrs May’s new deal and withdrawal agreements.
But Spain does not hold the power to veto Sunday’s potential agreement over the plan, with the new paper able to be signed off without the country’s say so.
EU sources told Sky News the remaining 26 nations in the EU were growing tired with Spain bringing up the issue of Gibraltar and its refusal to co-operate on the UK’s withdrawal agreement.
The EU’s legal services have scanned paperwork and found nothing legally unsound with the new Brexit agreement – but Madrid has persisted in bringing up The Rock.
Under draft negotiating guidelines released in 2017, London and Madrid would have to agree bilaterally on Gibraltar’s inclusion in any overall Brexit deal.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned Spain would torpedo the current Brexit withdrawal agreement without changes on how a divorce deal would apply to Gibraltar.
Mr Sanchez demanded clarification to Article 184 of the draft withdrawal agreement, which covers negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship.
The Spanish Prime Minister said: “In the past 72 hours, none of the documents has clarified something which is fundamental for us – Gibraltar is not part of the UK.
“As a country, we cannot assume what is going to happen in the future with regard to Gibraltar they are going to negotiate between the UK and the EU.
“It should be negotiated between Spain and the UK. As it stands, the Spanish government will vote against the Brexit deal.”
Spain will vote against the current Brexit draft proposal due to lack of clarity on the disputed British overseas territory of Gibraltar, a diplomatic source said on Thursday.
Spain wants it made clear in the text of the proposal that decisions on Gibraltar, a peninsular on the south of the mainland, must be agreed bilaterally between Spain and Britain, the source said.
The issue of taxation is a big issue for Spain, who consider the Rock to be a “tax haven” – a name which Gibraltarians has outright disagreed with, while he rights of 10,000 cross-border Spanish workers who travel onto the Rock each day is also a key part of current negotiations.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “She said there had been good engagement between the UK, the government of Spain and the government of Gibraltar in order to come to an agreement in the withdrawal agreement and associated package of memoranda of understanding relating to Gibraltar.
“She said that the UK and government of Gibraltar looked forward to these discussions continuing as we discuss the future relationship. The Prime Minister reiterated her commitment to agreeing a deal that works for the whole UK family including Gibraltar, the other UK overseas territories and the crown dependencies.”
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hinted that countries should be willing to give up control over their own affairs.
She suggested that organisations such as the European Union should have more power, in a veiled swipe at Brexit, amid the German Chancellor threatenening to derail Britain’s exit from the bloc.
Mrs Merkel said that countries who think “they can solve everything on their own” are simply nationalistic and not patriotic because they “only think about themselves.”