February 01, 2019
UK rejects description in footnote attached, on insistence of Spain, to EU regulation
Brexit: Gibraltar colony row flares as EU makes travel visa-free for Britons
A straightforward change in EU law guaranteeing visa-free travel for Britons in Europe after Brexit has sparked a diplomatic row after Brussels described Gibraltar as “a colony of the British crown” in its no-deal legislation.
The footnote containing the contentious description of the Rock was attached to the EU’s regulation on the insistence of Spain, with whom the UK has been in dispute over Gibraltar for three centuries.
During a meeting on Friday morning with his EU counterparts, the UK’s ambassador in Brussels, Sir Tim Barrow, expressed Downing Street’s angry rejection of the description, officials disclosed.
“It is completely unacceptable to describe Gibraltar in this way,” the prime minster’s official spokesman said. “Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family and has a mature and modern constitutional relationship with the UK. This will not change due to our exit from the EU.”
The UK would resist any attempt to negotiate the status of the territory even if it succeeded in reopening the withdrawal agreement treaty, the spokesman added.
The Conservative MEP Daniel Dalton accused Spain’s government of treating Gibraltar “as a political football”. “To read that EU officials have made the same mistake is at best insensitive, if not breathtakingly incompetent,” he said.
Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity in the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It formally became a crown colony in 1830 but its constitutional status was rejigged over the centuries as the British empire receded.
In 1983, along with all other former crown colonies, Gibraltar became a dependent overseas territory, only to be rebadged again as a British overseas territory in 2002.
It has its own parliament, with 17 representatives, but its head of state is the Queen, who is represented by the governor of Gibraltar, responsible to UK government for the Rock’s defence, internal security, foreign policy and governance.
The row over the footnote has been bubbling for weeks, much to the irritation of other member states. Spain initially wanted all the EU’s no-deal legislation – drafted in case the UK leaves on 29 March without ratifying the withdrawal agreement – to note that Gibraltar was disputed and on a UN list of “non-self-governing territories … subject to decolonisation”.
That move was blocked by France, as French Polynesia and New Caledonia are also on that list. The agreed footnote on the visa legislation signed off by ambassadors now notes that “Gibraltar is a colony of the British crown”.
“There is a controversy between Spain and the United Kingdom concerning the sovereignty of Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached in light of the relevant resolutions and decisions of the general assembly of the United Nations”, it added.
The UK has requested that a formal minute of its rejection of the description be added to the EU’s records.
Sources said the UK government made the point that Gibraltarians had determined the political sovereignty of the Rock in a referendum. It also rejected the characterisation of there being a “controversy” over the Rock.
The minute added that UK regretted “that our approaches to Spain to develop more helpful and appropriate language had not been reciprocated”.
Dr Tanzil Chowdhury, from Queen Mary’s school of law, said the EU’s claim that Gibraltar was a colony “has weight, given the UK parliament and crown still retain unlimited powers to legislate for the Rock and that it has been listed by the UN as a non-self-governing territory since 1946”.
“However, as Gibraltar has a high level of self-government and GDP, a flourishing tourism and gaming industry and is conventionally a party to its own trade deals, the picture is more intricate,” he said. “Indeed, whilst others may reasonably label it as a colony, the Gibraltarians have voted to remain under UK sovereignty.”
Despite the flare-up, the decision means UK citizens entering the EU’s Schengen area for up to 90 days in any 180 days should be granted visa-free travel.
The EU said, however, that British tourists would lose that right if the UK government imposed visa requirements on any of its member states.
A statement said: “The government of the United Kingdom has stated that it does not intend to require a visa from EU citizens travelling to the UK for short stays.
“In the event that the United Kingdom introduces a visa requirement for nationals of at least one member state in the future, the existing reciprocity mechanism would apply and the three institutions and the member states would commit to act without delay in applying the mechanism.”
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.