Spain wants post-Brexit agreement on Gibraltar to be signed tomorrow, minister says – Europe live | Netherlands

Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has said that he wants a deal on Gibraltar to be signed tomorrow, and that he will hold talks with his British counterpart on the subject today.

According to Spain’s Efe news agency, the deal will include plans to turn the Campo de Gibraltar – the Spanish area around Gibraltar – into a “zone of shared prosperity” that would see the elimination of the border fence so as to allow the movement of people and goods between the territory and the EU.

Albares said the aim was to establish a new, post-Brexit legal framework to “lay the foundations for a stable relationship between Spain and the EU on the one hand and the territory of Gibraltar, through the UK, on the other”.

According to the Spanish foreign ministry, the deal would allow Spain to use the Schengen agreement to control Gibraltar’s external borders. It would also allow Spain to protect and improve the rights of cross-border workers and would facilitate the free movement of goods “without increasing the risks for the EU internal market”.

The agreement would also include steps to combat money laundering and guarantee environmental protection and nuclear safety standards.

The primary aim, Albares said, was “the defence and protection of the interests and rights” of Spanish citizens – and, in particular, of the 270,000 people who live in the Campo de Gibraltar.

The minister was also careful to stress that Spain’s position on Gibraltar’s sovereignty remained unchanged.

He said:

Neither the future agreement, nor any option or measure taken in application or as a result thereof, imply or will imply any renouncing or modification of the legal position of Spain with respect to sovereignty and jurisdiction in relation to Gibraltar.

Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said this morning that he will meet with British foreign secretary David Cameron today in Brussels and that he wants a post-Brexit agreement on the status of Gibraltar to be sealed tomorrow.

“I had my first contact yesterday with the British foreign minister about the Gibraltar issue and both of us have said that we have to get moving as soon as possible,” the Spanish minister said in an interview with television channel Telecinco..

Both Albares and Cameron will be attending a Nato foreign ministers’ meeting, scheduled for today and tomorrow.

“We put a generous and balanced deal on the table many months ago, which will be the starting point. What Spain wants is for this deal to be signed tomorrow,” Albares said.

Speaking at an international conference this morning on a global alliance to counter migrant smuggling, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “The first track we will work on is to prevent and dissuade people from entrusting their life to smugglers.”

The commission chief said:

We must be tough and united in our response to the crime of smuggling. We must all put in place the right legislation. We must get our law enforcement agencies and prosecution services to work together. We must seize the assets used by criminals. We must shut down the international supply chains and financial flows of criminal groups. And we can only do this together.

Von der Leyen also noted that “we will update the definition of the crime of migrant smuggling” and “toughen the sanctions and we will extend our jurisdictional reach”.

She also said the EU wanted to step up cooperation with international partners, adding:

We must offer more legal alternatives to the people who want to seek fortune abroad. This is an interest we all share.

The far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders admitted on Monday that he was not off to a “dream start” in his attempts to form a government, after the man he appointed to oversee coalition talks quit over fraud allegations before getting started in the role.

As leader of the biggest party, and as is customary in Dutch politics, Wilders had last week engaged the PVV senator Gom van Strien to act as his choice of “scout” – a person tasked with shuttling between party leaders to clinch a deal.

However, allegations emerged in the NRC Handelsblad newspaper over the weekend that Van Strien was one of several people accused by Utrecht Holdings of “irregular” handling of commercial spin-offs from Utrecht University and University Medical Center Utrecht. While Van Strien has rejected any questions over his integrity and denied any allegation of fraud, he withdrew from the political process on Monday morning.

Dutch coalition processes typically take months and it is not unusual for them to be interrupted by party politics. Wilders has said he will look for a new scout “with more distance from politics” to attend the first meetings, which will be with him, the GreenLeft/Labour leader, Frans Timmermans, the VVD leader, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, and the head of the liberal democratic D66, Rob Jetten.

Although a prospective government could be made from the PVV, the rightwing VVD (current prime minister Mark Rutte’s party), the New Social Contract party led by Pieter Omtzigt, and the Dutch Farmer Citizen Movement (BBB), led by Caroline van der Plas, only the BBB has given a strong nod.

Having previously excluded Wilders, Omtzigt has said the result must be respected and his party would “take responsibility”. Yeşilgöz-Zegerius has already told media that she would not serve in a government under Wilders but would be willing to work in a confidence and supply arrangement.

Read the full story here.

Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader whose Party for Freedom (PVV) won the most seats in last week’s election, is upping efforts to portray himself as an acceptable possible prime minister.

The Party for Freedom is a “broad” people’s party, he wrote on social media this morning.

“2.4 million people voted for us. High and low educated, native and immigrant, employed, retired, young and old. From the city, the countryside,” he wrote, adding: “The PVV is there for everyone”.

But despite his strong election performance, Wilders’ views remain controversial – and it is unclear if the PVV can reach agreements with other parties to form a coalition.

Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.

Send thoughts and comments to [email protected].