Europe

Gibraltar (British Overseas Territory)
Last reviewed: 24 February 2009

Country information

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History

On 4 August 1704 Admiral Sir George Rooke, in command of an Anglo-Dutch fleet landed at Gibraltar, overcame its Spanish garrison and established a British military base. Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. A series of further treaties between 1729 and 1763 confirmed this. The Spanish made a number of attempts to recover the Rock by force up until 1783. In 1830 Gibraltar became a Crown Colony and increasingly important to British defence and commercial interests. Due to its strategic position it played an important role during the Second World War (when the civilian population was evacuated), particularly in the Allied landings in North Africa in 1942.

Since 1783 Spain has continued to lay claim to the sovereignty of Gibraltar by non-military means, culminating in the closure of the border in 1969. The border closure was triggered by adoption of the current Gibraltar Constitution and followed a majority vote to remain under British sovereignty in a referendum held in 1967. An Order in Council in 1969 established a Constitution with responsibility for certain matters (termed Defined Domestic Matters) being devolved to an elected Government of Gibraltar while the Governor retained other responsibilities (principally those for external affairs, defence and internal security). The Preamble to the Constitution Order stated that HMG would never allow the people of Gibraltar to pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.

In 1980 full restoration of communications was agreed at a meeting of British and Spanish Foreign Ministers in Lisbon, although the border was not fully reopened until 1985. The 1984 Brussels Communiqué, issued jointly by the UK and Spain, established a process of negotiations known as the 'Brussels Process'. This enabled both sides to discuss a range of Gibraltar-related issues, including sovereignty. At a Brussels Process meeting in December 1997, the then Spanish Foreign Minister, Abel Matutes, proposed temporary joint British and Spanish sovereignty over Gibraltar before sovereignty would revert to Spain. There was considerable public and political opposition to these proposals in Gibraltar. At the next Brussels Process meeting on 26 July 2001, Ministers agreed that the Matutes proposals were not an acceptable basis for discussion and agreed to set them aside and look to the future. Further meetings took place in Barcelona on 20 November 2001 and in London on 4 February 2002.

On 12 July 2002, UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw reported to Parliament on the progress of the talks. He explained that no final agreement had yet been reached, but that the Government was in broad agreement with Spain on many of the principles that should underpin a lasting settlement. The Foreign Secretary also made clear that the Government would only reach a final agreement it could commend to the people of Gibraltar, that any agreement must be permanent and that existing military arrangements would have to continue. He reiterated that the people of Gibraltar would have the ultimate say in an UK-organised referendum. As a reaction to the 12 July statement, the Government of Gibraltar organised a referendum on the principle of joint sovereignty with Spain. Neither the UK nor Spanish governments took part in the referendum, which took place on 7 November 2002. There was an 88% turnout, with 98.5% voting against any sharing of sovereignty with Spain.

On 27 October 2004, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Spain and the United Kingdom, Miguel Angel Moratinos and Jack Straw, met in Madrid. During their meeting they discussed Gibraltar and agreed to consider and consult further on how to establish a new forum for dialogue on Gibraltar, with an open agenda, in which Gibraltar would have its own voice.

On 18 September 2006, the first Trilateral Ministerial meeting was held at the Palacio de Viana in Cordoba. Mr Geoff Hoon, Minister for Europe, represented the UK, while Foreign Minister Moratinos and Chief Minister Peter Caruana represented Spain and Gibraltar respectively. At the meeting, a landmark agreement was reached on a range of issues. These included: telecommunications; the expanded use of Gibraltar Airport; the improvement of pedestrian and traffic flows at the border crossing between Gibraltar and Spain; and a settlement on pensions that would provide a fair deal for those Spanish citizens who lost their livelihoods when the border between Spain and Gibraltar closed in 1969.

A second Trilateral Forum Ministerial Meeting took place at Lancaster House on 2 July 2008. Participants reviewed and welcomed the progress made in the implementation of the Cordoba Statements. The meeting set out six new areas of cooperation on the environment; financial services and taxation; judicial, customs and police cooperation; education; maritime communications and visa-related issues.