EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

oh I'm a freeloader too. wonder why I could see it and you cant

Text from the above FT article:

The 300-year Anglo-Spanish dispute over Gibraltar is again threatening to disrupt the Brexit process, as the EU prepares to brand the Rock as “a colony of the British Crown” in its legislation to cope with a no-deal exit.

Britain officials hit back at the “completely inappropriate” language to describe Gibraltar in a spat over the territory that underlines how it could still pose a serious obstacle to an orderly Brexit.

Some EU diplomats fear Madrid’s relentless pursuit of the “colony” reference is a sign that it will press for even more difficult concessions on Gibraltar if Britain reopens its Brexit deal, or requests to delay its March 29 exit date. “The Spanish are gearing up for a Gibraltar fight when there is an extension request,” said one senior EU diplomat. “It could be dangerous.”

After extensive negotiations that significantly delayed the progress of the legislation, Spain won support this week for adding a footnote regarding Gibraltar to a proposed EU law that would provide visa-free access to UK nationals if Britain leaves without a deal.

“Gibraltar is a colony of the British Crown,” the text said, according to a copy seen by the Financial Times. “There is a controversy between Spain and the UK concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached in light of the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.”

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Spain has forcefully pressed its demands on Gibraltar’s status at opportune moments in the Brexit talks, often to the annoyance of some other member states. Once it is formally approved, Spain would expect such a footnote to be used in all future EU legislation regarding the UK after Brexit.

A UK government spokesperson said: “Gibraltar is not a colony and it is completely inappropriate to describe in this way. Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family and has a mature and modern constitutional relationship with the UK. This will not change due to our exit from the EU.”

The reference to Gibraltar being “a colony of the British Crown” emerged as a compromise between Spain and France. The latter had raised objections to the original text proposed by Madrid earlier in January.

This had referenced a UN list of “non-self-governing territories . . . subject to decolonisation”, which proved awkward for Paris because the list also included French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

The Franco-Spanish compromise uses potentially more provocative language for the UK, while watering down the reference to the UN decolonisation list.

EU officials point out that the reference to Gibraltar being “a colony of the British Crown” was made in a European Court of Justice decision from 2017. During the proceedings, the government of Gibraltar used the UN decolonisation list to argue that it should be treated as “separate and distinct” from the UK when it came to applying EU gambling laws.

The UK and Gibraltar governments argue that the territory has a right to self-determination. In a 2002 referendum on sharing sovereignty with Spain, 98.9 per cent of Gibraltar voters voted to reject the proposal. “All parties should respect the people of Gibraltar’s democratic wish to be British,” the UK spokesperson said.

The inclusion of the language has underlined the inbuilt advantage that members of the EU have in pressing home points of national interest in negotiation with countries outside the bloc.

In November Spain threatened to hold up approval of Britain’s draft withdrawal agreement as it sought further guarantees over the status of Gibraltar after Brexit. Josep Borrell, Spain’s foreign minister, hailed the eventual agreement as “the most important” since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, under which Gibraltar was ceded to the UK.

UK officials said that the revisions to the proposed EU visa law would not stop British nationals from Gibraltar being able to travel visa-free “for short stays” to Spain and other countries in the Schengen area after a no-deal Brexit.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62016CO0192

I think...thats the ruling...I cant read legalise though so I might be totally wrong