SPAIN’S Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares shook hands with his UK counterpart David Lammy today as he insisted ‘we both want an agreement regarding Gibraltar.’
The pair sat down in Madrid on Tuesday morning during a meeting of the G5+ foreign ministers.
Albares shared a picture on X of the moment he met Lammy, who was sworn in as Britain’s Foreign Secretary following Sir Keir Starmer’s general election victory in September 2024.
Albares said: ‘Our close relations benefit our citizens. Together we defend democratic values, European security, and peace in the face of Russian aggression. We both want an agreement regarding Gibraltar.’
Gibraltar remains in a post-Brexit limbo after years of negotiations have so far failed to deliver a treaty between Spain and the UK.
The British Overseas Territory sits on the southern tip of the Spanish mainland, sharing a land border with the Spanish town of La Linea de la Concepcion.
Thousands of Gibraltarian and Spanish workers travel across the ‘frontier’ each day, and they have so far been exempt from the strict Schengen rules that apply at other borders in the EU.
Negotiations on how to manage both the frontier, Gibraltar Airport, its waters and a host of other issues have been ongoing since December 31, 2020.
On February 28, in a speech before the Gibraltar Parliament, the Rock’s leader Fabian Picardo warned of the consequences of a possible ‘no deal.’
He said ‘the hammer will fall’ at the border, creating chaos for thousands of workers and tourists alike.
Strict Schengen checks on everyone crossing by car or foot would lead to hours-long delays and could severely impact the economy.
