Joint use of Gibraltar’s airport has to be included in any agreement between Spain and Britain over the future of the territory, Spain’s foreign minister said.
In an interview published Sunday in El País, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares made clear that the airport wouldn’t be left out of the deal, asking “what sense would it make to leave out an element as beneficial to the population as the airport?”
The negotiations over the future of Gibraltar have dragged on post-Brexit, with a temporary agreement in place for the British Overseas Territory that sees Spain allow workers and tourists free border passage. Negotiations continue this week, following talks between Albares and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron on the sidelines of a NATO meeting.
“To me, it seems like progress that flights can come from Spanish airports and other European countries, promoting tourism and relations. The airport has to be in the agreement, of course,” said Albares. He said that Spain has presented “a global, balanced and generous proposal” and it was up to the U.K. to decide whether it wants this or the “simple application of European legislation.”
However, he indicated that he saw a “constructive spirit” from the U.K. on the issue.
