European judges could rule on disputes involving Gibralatar under a new Brexit deal, ministers have admitted.
The Rock territory will also have to follow some EU rules under the deal to ensure a more open border with Spain, the Foreign Office said.
Conservative MPs have expressed “considerable alarm” at the concessions and questioned whether British sovereignty over the territory could be compromised as a result of the deal.
The British minister for Gibraltar, David Rutley, stressed to the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee that defending the sovereignty of the British overseas territory was a “red line.”
Concerns have arisen as Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron leads talks with the EU in a bid to secure a deal and end the post-Brexit deadlock, with officials announcing last month that the “elements” had been agreed. central” of the pact.
The Rock territory will have to follow some EU rules under the agreement, to ensure a more open border with Spain, the Foreign Office said.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is leading talks with the EU in a bid to reach a deal and end the post-Brexit deadlock.
Britain has been locked in talks over the future of Gibraltar since it left the European Union in 2016, ending freedom of movement between Spain and the territory.
Sovereignty of the territory, which Spain ceded to the British in 1713, remains a source of tension between the United Kingdom and Spain.
Its inhabitants voted twice to reject Spanish sovereignty in 1967 and 2002. In 2016 they voted overwhelmingly (96%) in favor of remaining in the European Union.
Madrid continues to claim sovereignty over the tongue of land, which is located at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula.
He is pushing for a treaty on the territory’s post-Brexit future ahead of crucial European Parliament elections on June 6.
But pressure from Conservative MPs has been mounting after a Foreign Office official involved in the negotiations admitted that concessions include the European Court of Justice (ECJ) having influence there.
He told MPs on the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee that while the Luxembourg-based court would not enforce the “direct application” of EU rules on the Rock, there could be cases “where there may be [a] remission’.
Committee chairman Sir Bill Cash said its role centered on its sovereignty.
Madrid continues to claim sovereignty over the tongue of land, which is located at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. In the photo: the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
“I sincerely trust that the Government and the Foreign Secretary are very aware of the fact that any extension or indirect application of the ECJ’s jurisdiction to matters relating to these issues will be considered a very, very serious matter,” he warned.
David Jones, the former Brexit minister, said: “It seems to me that we are talking about a significant diminution of British sovereignty which the Government is apparently very happy to play along with.”
Rutley told the committee that the Gibraltar government was happy with the proposed agreement and wanted it to be completed.
“The UK will only reach an agreement with the EU on Gibraltar that the Government of Gibraltar is satisfied with, which safeguards the sovereignty of Gibraltar and which fully protects the operations and independence of UK military installations in Gibraltar,” he said. .
‘These are effectively our red lines, they have been from the beginning. “We are not going to reach an agreement that is not correct.”
In theory, Gibraltar – home to more than 32,000 people – is currently outside the EU customs union and not under free movement rules.
However, Madrid has granted a temporary exemption to workers and tourists to avoid disruption on the narrow peninsula leading off Spain’s southern coast, leaving the overseas territory in a state of limbo since Brexit.
Spain could terminate the temporary agreement at any time, so negotiations are aimed at agreeing common travel between Gibraltar and the EU Schengen zone, which would eliminate most border controls.
A view from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar, with the airport and the Spanish border below (left)
The latest row comes after a top EU commissioner was accused of “grandstanding” by the former head of Britain’s Royal Navy after saying “Gibraltar is Spanish”.
Margaritis Schinas, vice president of the European Commission, made the comments at a briefing in Seville last month.
They have already been branded “incomprehensible” by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares.