Marina Pina

Updated Friday, March 8, 2024-13:06

  • Anniversary The Gibraltar fence, the same 40 years later

  • Controls Gibraltar threatens retaliation over new Spanish passport control system

Soldiers from the

Royal Gibraltar Regiment

are preparing for the annual

Jebel Tarik

exercise which will take place at the Hythe and Lydd firing ranges in Folkstone, UK, later this month.

The deployment marks an important milestone for the Regiment, as it helps it fulfill mandatory firing operations and improves its readiness for missions.

Spain knows what is happening in the Islands, but

is unaware of the maneuvers

that are carried out inside Gibraltar, as well as the exercises that the British Armed Forces carry out not only in the Rock, but in its waters.

And while this situation seems to become chronic, the Government continues working to bring about a Treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom on the relationship between Gibraltar and Europe.

But if in the last legislature the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, made an effort to show his commitment and concern for this matter, in this new mandate the interest in reaching this treaty seems to have taken a backseat.

Although Albares has insisted on numerous occasions that "Spain is prepared to sign the agreement", the truth is that there are still details that have not been finalized.

Furthermore, as EL MUNDO has learned, the changes at the top of the Ministry have also

affected

the negotiations on Gibraltar.

Until now, Spain's weight in the negotiations depended on the Secretary of State of the European Union, however, given that

Fernando Sampedro Marcos

landed in this position last December, the Secretary of State had to accompany him to at least one of the meetings. of General Affairs, who was more aware of the negotiations.

Foreign sources assure that Sampedro, however, is already up to date and that he is

the interlocutor

with Brussels.

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Because

it is the European Union

that negotiates with the United Kingdom those conditions for there to be a Treaty.

Representatives of Gibraltar sit at the table, but not of Spain, which delegated its role entirely to the EU.

Thus, the Commission negotiates both what directly affects the Union (the control of migratory flows and the customs part), and what concerns the Spanish part.

On January 16, the

16th

round of negotiations was held without closing any agreement.

And far from moving forward, Spanish diplomacy regrets feeling that they are moving further and further away from the work done in recent years.

As published by

El Periódico de España

, Albares has not yet appointed the new delegate for Campo de Gibraltar after the appointment of his previous delegate, Juan José Sanz, as ambassador to Serbia.

The same media reported that the new head of the Gibraltar Office,

Jorge Notivoli

, has also not visited the staff or institutions of Campo de Gibraltar, the region that surrounds the Rock.

In the office they lament the opacity of the negotiations.

They hardly receive information about the meetings and progress, making their work very difficult.

Spain's aspirations include ending the fence that separates both territories and the joint use of the airport, with customs control by Frontex officials

.

There is no deadline

to reach an agreement, but the hope is that before the European elections this treaty will be closed and a new manager will not inherit it.

However, even though there are only a few months left, that goal now seems unattainable in the short term.