Gibraltar should be shared, Spain tells Britain

Spain has invited Britain to share sovereignty of Gibraltar, in a move which would allow the territory to remain in the European Union.

But Gibraltar's chief minister has rejected the proposal, saying the answer is "no way, Jose."

The rocky headland on Spain's southern tip has long been the subject of a bitter row between London and Madrid, which wants to reclaim the area.

Calls for joint sovereignty have increased following Brexit, with Spain arguing that the outcrop, ceded to Britain in 1713, should not miss out on EU benefits because of the UK's decision.

Spain's UN ambassador Roman Oyarzun said he wanted to the matter to be discussed.

"Spain has formally invited the United Kingdom to open negotiations to reach an agreement so that the mandates of European Union treaties keep being applied in Gibraltar," he told a UN committee.

Gibraltar has a flourishing economy, which is based on the financial services sector, tourism and online gaming, and heavily depends on its access to the EU's single market.

More than 95% of voters in the territory chose to remain in the EU.

Under the plan, Gibraltarians would be able to keep their British nationality - but they would also be able to gain Spanish citizenship.

The idea of joint sovereignty is not new one. A proposal was once agreed by Britain and Spain in 2002, but the idea was binned after Gibraltarians rejected it in a referendum.

History repeated itself in Tuesday's committee meeting, when chief minister Fabian Picardo rejected the latest plans outright.

Mr Picardo pointed to past rows with Spain that affected the land border, which many Spaniards cross every day to work in the British territory.

In a 2013 argument over disputed waters, for instance, Spain upped border checks, creating hours-long traffic jams and forcing the European Commission to intervene to ease the crisis.

"When it comes to the question of whether we will transfer all or any part of our sovereignty to Spain, our answer will never change," Mr Picardo said.

"It is simple: 'No way, Jose.' You will never get your hands on our Rock. Never."

Peter Wilson, the UK's deputy permanent representative at the UN, said Britain would not enter any negotiations with which Gibraltar was not content.

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