Spain’s hard-right party Vox has launched a fierce attack on the post-Brexit agreement that removed the physical border at Gibraltar this week.
The party accused Madrid of surrendering national sovereignty and demanded a tougher strategy to reclaim the British Overseas Territory.
Vox described the deal as a mistake, arguing that it strengthens the Rock instead of advancing Spain’s centuries-old sovereignty claim.
During a visit to La Linea on Wednesday, Vox’s national Agenda Espana spokeswoman Isabel Perez Monino described the agreement as ‘infamous and inexplicable’, branding it ‘a betrayal of Spain and the Spanish people’.
She claimed the deal ‘only serves the interests of the pirates of Gibraltar and all those who do not want the Rock to form part of Spain’, while arguing it would do little for Spanish workers in neighbouring La Linea.
Perez Monino also renewed Vox’s calls to place ‘Spain and Spaniards first’, saying her party has long advocated restoring ‘national pride’ through a stronger defence of Spanish sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Vox politician also lashed out at Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for attending the ceremony marking the removal of the border fence, calling him a ‘tyrant’ and arguing that any leader with ‘a minimum of decency and dignity’ should have condemned the agreement instead of celebrating it.
She concluded by accusing the government of acting against Spain’s national interests, claiming it ‘serves every interest except those of Spain and the Spanish people’ and reiterating Vox’s demand that Gibraltar should ultimately return to Spanish sovereignty.
The post-Brexit agreement, which came into force on July 15, abolished the physical frontier between Gibraltar and La Linea in Cadiz, while transferring Schengen checks to Gibraltar’s airport and port.
Vox insists the pact represents a humiliation for Spain and has accused Sanchez’s government of granting concessions to London and Gibraltar without securing any meaningful progress on sovereignty.
The party says Gibraltar should ultimately be incorporated into Spain and has renewed calls for Madrid to use every diplomatic and legal avenue available to recover the territory.
It argues that the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, under which Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain, should not prevent the country from continuing to press its claim.
Vox wants Spain to adopt a long-term strategy aimed at restoring Spanish sovereignty over the Rock, increase pressure on the UK in international negotiations and reject any agreement that entrenches Gibraltar’s separate status.
It has also repeatedly called for an end to what it describes as the privileges Gibraltar enjoys through its special arrangements with Spain and the EU.
The party has consistently taken one of the hardest lines on Gibraltar in Spanish politics.
It has also opposed Gibraltar’s participation in international sporting bodies, arguing that allowing the territory to compete separately helps legitimise it as an independent political entity.
Vox’s stance contrasts sharply with that of the Spanish government, which has hailed the agreement as the final piece of the Brexit settlement and a landmark deal for the Campo de Gibraltar.
Madrid says the removal of the border will benefit the thousands of people who cross between Gibraltar and Spain each day for work, while boosting trade, tourism and economic activity on both sides.
Despite the new arrangements, the treaty does not resolve the centuries-old sovereignty dispute among right-wing circles.
To them, Spain continues to claim Gibraltar, while the UK insists that British sovereignty will not change without the consent of the Gibraltarian people.
Gibraltar’s government has also stressed that the removal of the border does not alter the territory’s constitutional position or its status as a British Overseas Territory.
