Sovereignty Negotiations and Gibraltar's Military Facilities: How Two “Red-Line” Issues Became Three

Abstract

The Brussels Agreement signed between Britain and Spain in 1984 aimed to resolve all aspects of the dispute over Gibraltar, including sovereignty, which dated back to the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. Desultory progress was made in negotiations until 2001, when the British Government decided to attempt to negotiate a joint sovereignty agreement. From the outset two non-negotiable (‘red-line’) issues on Britain's part were established: the agreement must be permanent, and it must be subject to a referendum in Gibraltar. As the negotiations progressed, a third ‘red-line’ issue emerged: Britain insisted on retaining control of Gibraltar's military facilities. The article explores how this third issue emerged and the possible reasons why it did so following 9/11.