Spain is likely to wield a veto over any Brexit deal for Gibraltar after the EU-27 backed Madrid in its draft negotiating guidelines for forthcoming divorce talks between the UK and the bloc.
Gibraltar is a disputed territory, which Britain has held for centuries. For the UK, any Brexit deal would automatically apply to Gibraltar, since it claims it as British territory.
But Spain argues that any agreement would require its blessing, because the area is not part of the UK, as is the case with Northern Ireland, but a colony with a disputed status.
After decades of not taking any side, the EU threw its weight behind Spain in the dispute.
On Friday (31 March) European Council President Donald Tusk unveiled the set of principles that will guide the divorce talks and the future relationship between Britain and the remaining 27 member states.
These guidelines, which will frame the negotiations between the UK and the EU, support Madrid’s demand to authorise any deal for the disputed territory. Contrary to what some officials expected, the guidelines included a clear reference to Gibraltar.
Once the islands leave the Union, “no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom”, said the guidelines drafted by Tusk.

more at: euractiv.com