The EU will not back down in its support for Spain's demands when it comes to the Rock of Gibraltar in Brexit negotiations, senior European diplomats have said.
The European council, whose members comprise the EU member states, shocked Downing Street by saying the British overseas territory could be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with Spain’s agreement. Early yesterday, a former Conservative leader has waded into the row by claiming that Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory as Margaret Thatcher once did for the Falklands.
Inflammatory
In comments that were immediately criticised by Labour and the Lib Dems as inflammatory, Michael Howard said there was “no question” of Britain weakening its stance with regards to the sovereignty of one of its overseas territories.
"Thirty-five years ago this week, another woman prime minister sent a taskforce halfway across the world to defend the freedom of another small group of British people against another Spanish-speaking country, and I'm absolutely certain that our current prime minister will show the same resolve in standing by the people of Gibraltar," Howard told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News.
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‘Steadfastly committed’
Downing Street refused to comment on the Tory peer’s intervention, but revealed that May had called Fabian Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, yesterday morning to say the UK remained “steadfastly committed to our support for Gibraltar, its people and its economy”.
The prime minister added that the British government would "never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes", Downing Street said. Picardo had himself flown to London for an interview on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One, in which he echoed comments made privately by British officials.
He suggested that the demand in the European Council’s draft negotiating guidelines could be watered down before the 27 member states formally adopt them at the end of the month.
“That’s just a draft at the moment. Let’s see what comes back on the 29th of April,” he said. However, senior EU diplomats have dismissed the suggestion that the EU will go soft on the issue of Gibraltar in the coming weeks, and warned that Spain had spent time and effort in cultivating support among the other 26 member states on the position. – ( Guardian service)