Gibraltar Treaty

Statement

The following Statement was made in the House of Commons on Thursday 26 February.

“With permission, I wish to make a Statement on the UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar. First, I welcome the presence in the Gallery of His Majesty’s Governor of Gibraltar, His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir Ben Bathurst. Given his previous commands, I also take the opportunity to wish him a very happy St David’s Day in advance—Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus—which I share with all the House and, indeed, with the people of Gibraltar. It is also a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Mr Speaker, given your own strong support for and associations with Gibraltar, not least in relation to the university.

After five years of tireless and complex work and dozens of rounds of negotiations, I am pleased to inform the House that we have published a draft version of the treaty. I am depositing a copy of the draft treaty in the Library of each House, together with an accompanying summary document. I am delighted that we have reached this moment, which heralds a new era of security, prosperity and stability for Gibraltar and the surrounding region and, crucially, protects British sovereignty over the Rock.

For more than 300 years, the Rock has been a hugely important part of the British family. Its people are British citizens, and our commitment to them remains absolute. This Government have taken seriously their responsibility to protect Gibraltar’s unique position and to secure post-Brexit arrangements that deliver on that responsibility. This draft treaty protects jobs and livelihoods for the people of Gibraltar and offers a stable framework for their relationship with the European Union, removing the uncertainty they have faced since Brexit. In short, it shows what real diplomacy and co-operation can achieve. It is the result of sustained and effective efforts on the part of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar, the European Union and Spain.

His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar have been at the table at every stage of the negotiations; nothing has been agreed without their full support. I place on the record my appreciation for the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and their teams, who played vital roles in securing the best outcome. I also pay tribute to UK negotiators, including our teams in Brussels, Madrid, London and Gibraltar. Their diligence and diplomatic skill have ensured that this treaty protects UK sovereignty and delivers practical outcomes for citizens and businesses on both sides of the border.

Now let me reflect on some of the detail. Around 15,000 people cross the land border between Spain and Gibraltar every day—half of Gibraltar’s workforce. The treaty removes all checks on people and goods at that border; instead, dual immigration checks will take place at Gibraltar’s airport, with Gibraltar conducting its own controls and Spain, as the neighbouring Schengen state, conducting checks on behalf of the European Union, in a model similar to the French police operating at St Pancras.

Let me be clear: Gibraltar is not joining Schengen. Immigration, policing and justice remain the responsibility of its own authorities. British sovereignty over Gibraltar, including British Gibraltar territorial waters, is fully upheld and explicitly protected. Crucially, the United Kingdom’s military facilities and operations on the Rock remain under full UK control. The treaty also establishes a bespoke customs model that removes the need for routine goods checks at the land border and strengthens co-operation between customs authorities.

Gibraltar will align its import duty rates on goods with EU rates. That will allow people to cross the border with everyday goods, such as shopping, without declarations or additional charges, bringing an end to long queues for workers, businesses and visitors. Having been in those queues myself, I know that that will make a substantial difference. To be clear, Gibraltar will not apply VAT or any other sales tax, and its vital services industry will not be affected.

The result is a pragmatic agreement and arrangement that protects Gibraltar’s way of life, supports its economy and strengthens cross-border co-operation, while safeguarding the United Kingdom’s sovereignty position. It also gives businesses the certainty that they have sought for many years, allowing them to plan and invest with confidence. The conclusion of the negotiations also reflects the wider, transformed change in tone and trust that this Government have rebuilt with our European and EU partners, including Spain—a crucial NATO ally and economic partner. It represents a new era of co-operation and delivery for growth and security.

As with the UK-EU summit last year, the agreement shows that a constructive, problem-solving relationship with the European Union can deliver real benefits for British citizens. We are publishing the draft treaty alongside the European Union while legal teams complete final checks and translations, so that all Parliaments with an interest can have access to it on the same timeline.

The publication of the draft today marks a milestone, but it is not the formal end of the process; the final version of the treaty will be laid in the UK Parliament for scrutiny before ratification, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. We will continue to work closely with the Government of Gibraltar, the European Union and Spain as we move towards signature and implementation, and I will update the House as that work progresses.

In conclusion, this is a significant achievement for Britain, for Gibraltar and for our wider European partnerships. It shows this Government’s commitment to fixing problems, supporting our overseas territories, and defending Britain’s interests with clarity and confidence. With this treaty, Gibraltar can look to the future with certainty. Its people can be reassured that their way of life is protected. To quote the Chief Minister today, the treaty

‘provides a springboard to stability, certainty and a modern partnership with the EU. And it does so without affecting our fundamental, inalienable right to remain British in every respect. Indeed, the Agreement makes absolutely clear that nothing in the Agreement or any supplementing arrangements shall affect sovereignty.’

In the words of my right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister, our commitment to Gibraltar remains, as ever, as solid as the Rock. I commend this Statement to the House”.

I am grateful to the Minister for giving the House the opportunity to ask questions on this Statement. I should begin by saying that the Official Opposition welcome the fact that the Government of Gibraltar have been at the table throughout these negotiations. Gibraltar is British. The Government tell us that sovereignty was never on the table throughout these negotiations, and it never should be. I only wish they were consistent in their application of this approach to other treaties.

This treaty runs to more than 1,000 pages and, of course, we need time carefully to consider the detail. I thank the Minister and his colleagues for ensuring the publication of the treaty in draft. This has allowed us to begin the process of scrutiny early. Can the Minister say when the treaty will be laid formally so that we can plan for the CRaG process that will follow? When we went through the CRaG process for the 2025 UK-Mauritius treaty, the Government failed to follow the Ponsonby rule, which established the convention that the Government will allow a debate on a substantive Motion in respect of treaty ratification where a formal request is made by the Official Opposition. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government will follow the convention if a request is received in respect of this treaty?

On a connected scrutiny point, can the Minister say whether domestic legislation will also be needed before we proceed to ratification? If so, when will that be laid before the House? As the Minister knows, we have been critical of the Government’s sequencing of the agreements in respect to the UK-Mauritius treaty and the Bill, so can he say whether the Government are aware of any extant and binding treaties in respect of Gibraltar that may be in tension with the terms of the draft treaty that has now been agreed with the EU?

I turn from process to the practicalities of the treaty. Can the Minister please set out the steps that will be taken under the treaty to protect the rights of British citizens freely to visit Gibraltar? We know that dual passport checks will be undertaken at the airport in Gibraltar. What recourse will a citizen have in circumstances where Spanish border control and British border control are in disagreement on a person’s admission to what will remain British territory? Can he say what oversight UK authorities will have over the activities of the Spanish border control operations in Gibraltar? What is the process for dispute resolution?

My Lords, I welcome the Minister back to FCDO business, even though it may well be temporary. These Benches support this treaty. In the House of Commons, without any sense of irony, the Conservative Opposition said that Parliament had been kept in the dark about this treaty. However, it was the previous Government who ignored the wishes of the 96% of people of Gibraltar who sought to remain in the EU, forced on them the hardest of Brexits, took no action to correct the damage that they were told by Gibraltarians would happen, and then refused to present to Parliament a mandate for negotiations to have a sustainable agreement.

I therefore thank the Government for working closely with the Gibraltar Government and agreeing with these Benches, who said before the election that nothing about Gibraltar should be agreed without Gibraltar. I also put on record the hard work of the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Garcia, who is from our sister party, as well as of officials, including the recently retired Dominique Searle, the Gibraltar representative in the UK, for all their patience, perseverance and dedication to reach agreement.

I welcome the fact that the Gibraltar Parliament is debating this treaty as we speak. The fact that the Gibraltar Government have accepted a constructive amendment from the opposition means that we will likely see it pass unanimously in the Gibraltar Parliament and then be sent to us for consideration under the CRaG process. I hope that, if our EU committee seeks a debate on this, the Government will honour the Grimstone convention in this House and timetable a debate. I would be grateful if the Minister could confirm that the Government will do that if the EU committee seeks it.

These Benches have supported, and will always support, the right of the Gibraltarians to decide their future. Therefore, can the Minister confirm that there are no sovereignty concessions and, indeed, no mechanisms in this treaty that would allow for sovereignty claims? I know that the Gibraltar Government sought independent legal advice to confirm this, but the Minister putting it on the record at the Dispatch Box would be helpful.