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| Spain’s Desire for Gibraltar Complicates ‘Brexit’ Talks With E.U. | Spain’s Desire for Gibraltar Complicates ‘Brexit’ Talks With E.U. |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| LONDON — To the formidable list of problems facing Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain as she negotiates the nation’s risky withdrawal from the European Union, add one more: the future of the rocky outcrop of Gibraltar. | LONDON — To the formidable list of problems facing Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain as she negotiates the nation’s risky withdrawal from the European Union, add one more: the future of the rocky outcrop of Gibraltar. |
| After it became clear Friday that the union’s remaining leaders might give Spain an effective veto over whether any deal applied to Gibraltar — a British territory long the subject of an acrimonious sovereignty dispute between London and Madrid — lawmakers in Britain and Gibraltar responded with defiance and concern. | After it became clear Friday that the union’s remaining leaders might give Spain an effective veto over whether any deal applied to Gibraltar — a British territory long the subject of an acrimonious sovereignty dispute between London and Madrid — lawmakers in Britain and Gibraltar responded with defiance and concern. |
| Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, made his anger clear on Friday, calling Spain’s tactic “disgraceful” and “predatory.” | Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, made his anger clear on Friday, calling Spain’s tactic “disgraceful” and “predatory.” |
| He said in a statement about the insertion of language on Gibraltar into the European Union’s draft guidelines for negotiating a British withdrawal: “This unnecessary, unjustified and unacceptable discriminatory proposed singling out of Gibraltar and its people was the predictable machination of Spain.” | He said in a statement about the insertion of language on Gibraltar into the European Union’s draft guidelines for negotiating a British withdrawal: “This unnecessary, unjustified and unacceptable discriminatory proposed singling out of Gibraltar and its people was the predictable machination of Spain.” |
| After speaking with Mr. Picardo by phone, Britain’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said in a Twitter post on Friday, “As ever, the UK remains implacable & rock-like in our support for Gibraltar.” | After speaking with Mr. Picardo by phone, Britain’s foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said in a Twitter post on Friday, “As ever, the UK remains implacable & rock-like in our support for Gibraltar.” |
| Christian Hernandez, president of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce, told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program that the British government must “stand firm in the face of Spanish bullying.” | Christian Hernandez, president of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce, told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program that the British government must “stand firm in the face of Spanish bullying.” |
| Gibraltar, which Spain ceded to Britain in 1713, is 12 miles off the north coast of Africa, borders Spain and has a British military base. It also has a population of 30,000, the overwhelming majority of whom want to remain British. | |
| Gibraltarians run most of their own affairs under a chief minister. But Spain has long held ambitions to change the status of Gibraltar, and Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, known as Brexit, may have given Madrid long-sought leverage. | Gibraltarians run most of their own affairs under a chief minister. But Spain has long held ambitions to change the status of Gibraltar, and Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, known as Brexit, may have given Madrid long-sought leverage. |
| Gibraltarians, who voted overwhelmingly — 96 percent — to stay in the European Union in last year’s referendum, now find themselves potential pawns in a larger game involving various frontier issues in the wake of that vote. | Gibraltarians, who voted overwhelmingly — 96 percent — to stay in the European Union in last year’s referendum, now find themselves potential pawns in a larger game involving various frontier issues in the wake of that vote. |
| Chief among those concerns: the possible reintroduction of customs or other checks at the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland. This frontier was once partly militarized but is now almost invisible because countries on both sides are members of the European Union. | Chief among those concerns: the possible reintroduction of customs or other checks at the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and Ireland. This frontier was once partly militarized but is now almost invisible because countries on both sides are members of the European Union. |
| In Gibraltar, which has a clear frontier with Spain, the fear is different. It is that once Britain is outside the European Union, which guarantees free movement of people, Spain could demand concessions or make the border with Gibraltar harder to cross, effectively isolating the territory. | In Gibraltar, which has a clear frontier with Spain, the fear is different. It is that once Britain is outside the European Union, which guarantees free movement of people, Spain could demand concessions or make the border with Gibraltar harder to cross, effectively isolating the territory. |
| Some lawmakers say the British government has been outflanked. While the Northern Irish border was mentioned in the letter sent on Wednesday from Mrs. May to the European Union, outlining her plans for negotiating Brexit, Gibraltar was not. | Some lawmakers say the British government has been outflanked. While the Northern Irish border was mentioned in the letter sent on Wednesday from Mrs. May to the European Union, outlining her plans for negotiating Brexit, Gibraltar was not. |
| Clare Moody, a member of the European Parliament from the opposition Labour Party who represents Gibraltar and southwest England, told the BBC it was the government’s job to “represent the people of Gibraltar.” | Clare Moody, a member of the European Parliament from the opposition Labour Party who represents Gibraltar and southwest England, told the BBC it was the government’s job to “represent the people of Gibraltar.” |
| “I was amazed that they failed to do that in the letter they sent on Wednesday,” she said. “If the government has overlooked the interests of Gibraltar, which is a crucial part of the kind of constitutional arrangements of our membership of the European Union, then what else are they going to overlook?” | “I was amazed that they failed to do that in the letter they sent on Wednesday,” she said. “If the government has overlooked the interests of Gibraltar, which is a crucial part of the kind of constitutional arrangements of our membership of the European Union, then what else are they going to overlook?” |
| Timothy Boswell, a former Conservative Party minister who now chairs the House of Lords committee on the European Union, criticized that omission and said that the government must avoid giving the impression that Gibraltar is an “afterthought” | Timothy Boswell, a former Conservative Party minister who now chairs the House of Lords committee on the European Union, criticized that omission and said that the government must avoid giving the impression that Gibraltar is an “afterthought” |
| “In the absence of any clear commitment to defend Gibraltar’s interests by the prime minister, the door has been opened for the E.U. to present it as a disputed territory, without a voice of its own in negotiations that will have profound implications for its future prosperity,“ he said in a statement. | “In the absence of any clear commitment to defend Gibraltar’s interests by the prime minister, the door has been opened for the E.U. to present it as a disputed territory, without a voice of its own in negotiations that will have profound implications for its future prosperity,“ he said in a statement. |