Gibraltar should not be Brexit bargaining chip

The dust-up over Gibraltar is a prelude to how bumpy the road to Brexit deal would be. The rocky 2.6 square mile enclave has been a British territory for the last three centuries. But Spain has long sought to regain control of Gibraltar, an area of 32,000 people on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
Now Gibraltar, which is known as ‘the rock’, faces an uncertain future after Brexit as European Union President Donald Tusk gave Spain a determining say on whether any Brexit deal will apply to the territory. The draft guidelines for the bloc’s negotiation with Britain have caused consternation among the residents of the rock.
Tusk said after the UK leaves 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. This has added another knot around the Brexit issue. Britain has reacted very strongly against the EU’s stand on Gibraltar. Prime Minister Theresa May said the government is clear that the territory is covered by the exit talks. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said that the British territory of Gibraltar will be protected under all circumstances. And Jack Lopresti, a lawmaker who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar called the EU’s attempt to allow Spain an effective veto over the future of British sovereign territory shameful. He also said that bloc’s stance flies in the face of the will of the people of Gibraltar. Lopresti has denied any negotiation over the status of the territory.
More than 96 percent of Gibraltarians voted to remain in the EU in last year’s referendum. Gibraltar now faces the possibility of losing access to both a source of thousands of workers who cross its border daily and a market for its financial services industry. Now Gibraltar will lose the unlimited flow of workers, goods and money if Britain leaves the EU without retaining access to the bloc’s single market. And Spain is waiting in wings to exploit the situation to press for greater control of the territory. Madrid has blocked Gibraltar’s request for a special deal that would allow it to retain access to the EU single market and keep borders open.
Gibraltar is facing a very tricky situation. The rock has benefitted from its relations with both UK and Spain. It has thrived economically under Britain’s rule and open trade with Spain. Owing to its low corporate taxes, business-friendly regulation and links to the EU market since 1973 have attracted investments. Gibraltarians have to make a tough choice. They cannot either afford to turn their back to Europe or lose Britain. Gibraltar is the victim of the circumstances. It is being dragged into the Brexit quagmire without its will. Gibraltar should be no bargaining chip in Brexit deal. Gibraltarians are being made sacrificial lamb by warring sides. There must not be any change in the status and sovereignty of Gibraltar without the say of its people.