European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas has been slammed for an “incomprehensible” remark regarding ongoing UK-European Union negotiations on Gibraltar.
Speaking at a press event on April 4, Schinas commented: “Gibraltar español”, when asked about his views on the territory, seemingly in reference to Spain’s disputed claim on the peninsula, which currently remains under British control.
“I can more comfortably say Gibraltar español after Brexit,” he said in Spanish, adding that with the UK gone post-Brexit, negotiating a number of EU policies had become much easier.
Although the comments appeared to spark amusement at the press event, Schinas’ European colleagues were less pleased.
Jose Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign minister, was the biggest name to publicly lambast Schinas, adding he was not even involved in current EU-UK negotiations regarding the rock.
“I have spoken with Commissioner Schinas regarding those statements he made, which seem very unfortunate and incomprehensible to me because Commissioner Schinas is not at all involved in the dossier of the withdrawal agreement concerning Gibraltar,” Albares said.
The EC issued a joint statement with Albares, appearing to distance itself from Schinas’ statement. It clearly emphasisied that his fellow EC VP Maroš Šefčovič was the only man qualified to comment on the matter.
“We are entering into a sensitive phase of the negotiations,” the EC said, noting talks were “progressing according to plan”.
“On the EU side, the negotiations are taken forward by the European Commission under the political responsibility of Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič who speaks on behalf of the Commission on this matter,” it added.
Schinas is since said to have apologised to Albares over the matter.
The Pope met with Gibraltar’s chief minister and governor, saying its interfaith harmony must be “conserved and preserved”. https://t.co/TsXMmEDvMc
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 10, 2023
