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 | |
 Spain |  United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Spanish Embassy London | British Embassy Madrid |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador José Pascual Marco Martínez | AmbassadorAlex Ellis[1] |
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Spain–United Kingdom relations, also known asSpanish–British relations, are thebilateralinternational relations betweenSpain and theUnited Kingdom. Both countries are members of theCouncil of Europe andNATO. Spain is aEuropean Union member and the United Kingdom is aformer European Union member.
The history of Spanish–British relations is complicated by the political and religious heritages of the two countries. Neither the United Kingdom nor Spain have a unique constitutional ancestor; Britain was originally created by a union of the kingdoms ofEngland andScotland (and later joined byIreland), whilst the Kingdom of Spain was initially created by a union of the crowns ofCastile andAragon (and later joined byNavarre). For centuries, the role of England, and subsequently Britain, inIberia was coloured by theAnglo-Portuguese Alliance. Relations with Portugal always have been closer than those with Spain, and Spain and Britain have gone to war twice[when?] over Portugal's independence. Relations have also been complicated by the fact that the United Kingdom and Spain were both imperial powers, often after the same land, an occurrence which is being played out to this day with the disputed ownership and status ofGibraltar.
During the turn of the 19th century, Anglo-Spanish relations were at a low point.[2] Spain remained neutral in theFirst World War.[3] During theSpanish Civil War, 1936–1939, the Conservative government in London was neutral, and took the lead in imposing an arms embargo against both theRepublican government andFranco's Nationalists.
The British Labour Party opposed Franco and after it came to power in 1945 relations were frosty.[4] After Franco died in 1975 and thedemocratisation movement gained power, relations grew friendly, and trade and tourism grew rapidly.[5]
In the present day, Spain and the United Kingdom maintain civil relations, both being members ofNATO, and theOECD. They share a number of regulations due to their previously shared membership of theEuropean Union, several of which remain in force in the UK afterits exit from the bloc.
The status ofGibraltar is a major point of contention in relations between the two nations, dating back to the conflicts in the early 18th century. The official status of Gibraltar is that of aBritish overseas territory.Captured by Dutch and British troops in 1704, king Philip V of Spain transferred the territory to Great Britain in 1713 under the terms ofArticle X of theTreaty of Utrecht.
In two referendums, held in September 1967 and November 2002, the people of Gibraltar rejected any proposal for the transfer of sovereignty to Spain. The 2002 referendum was on a proposal for joint sovereignty which at one stage was supported by the UK Government.
Considering the Gibraltariansdecolonisation subjects, Spain asserts it is a bilateral issue between sovereign nations on the grounds of the "territorial integrity" clauseUN Resolutions, which according to Spain prevails over the right toself-determination to the colonists themselves.[6] On the other hand, Gibraltar's authorities considerGibraltarian people the legitimate inhabitants of the territory, and therefore entitled to the self-determination right in compliance of the same United Nations' resolutions.Gibraltar's 2006 Constitution Order endorsed and approved byHer Majesty's Government states:
In 2008, the UN 4th Committee rejected the claim that a dispute over sovereignty affected self-determination, which was a basic human right.[8]
From May 2000 to May 2001HMS Tireless moored in Gibraltar, for repairs on the cooling system of its nuclear reactor. The presence of the nuclear vessel in Gibraltar caused outrage among environmentalists and strained relations between Spain and the UK.[9][10][11]
In February 2002, the UK formally apologised when a unit ofRoyal Marines accidentally invadedLa Linea de la Concepción's beach instead of Gibraltar's where their planned military training was to be conducted.[12][13]
In 2004, Spain and the United Kingdom established theTripartite Forum for Dialogue on Gibraltar, with equal representation of both countries and theBritish Overseas Territory.
Waters around Gibraltar, declared by the United Kingdom asterritorial waters according to theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (to a three-mile limit),[14] and claimed by Spain,[15][16] are another source of contention, with the Government of Gibraltar actively backing the British position naming the disputed waters as "British Gibraltar territorial waters".[17] In December 2008, theEuropean Commission approved a Spanish request designating most of the waters around Gibraltar as one of Spain's protected nature sites under EU law. This decision is being currently challenged in theEuropean Court of Justice by the Government of Gibraltar, backed by the British government. The Commission will defend its position and, in doing so, will be backed by Spain[18] In May 2009 Gibraltar authorities complained about the presence of aGuardia Civil Maritime Service vessel into the three-mile waters around Gibraltar, escalating to the intervention ofRoyal Navy Gibraltar Squadron and a diplomatic protest by the Government of the United Kingdom.[19][20] Further incidents occurred in November 2009, and in February 2019.[21][22]
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In July 2009Miguel Ángel Moratinos, theSpanish Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Gibraltar to meet theBritish Foreign Secretary,David Miliband, and Gibraltar'schief minister,Peter Caruana, becoming the first Spanish official to visit the territory since Spain closed its consulate in Gibraltar in the 1950s. Thesovereignty issue was not dealt with, given its controversial nature, and the three-way talks focused on other subjects such as cooperation on the environment, maritime matters, and ways of further facilitating the Moroccan community in Gibraltar to transit Spain en route to and from Gibraltar and Morocco.[23][24]
In December 2009, aGuardia Civil launch entered the Gibraltar harbour. Three armed officers landed in Gibraltar illegally and, along with a fourth, were arrested by the Royal Gibraltar Police.[25] Many such incidents occur, with a more recent event being the arresting of Gibraltarian fisherman inside the waters of Gibraltar, confiscation of equipment and transfer of the individuals to Spain. This was strongly condemned by the UK Government,[26] and the UK's method of quiet diplomacy with Spain was criticised by a local newspaper, which called for more 'open' diplomacy.[27]
Between January and November 2012, around 200 incursions by Spanish vessels into Gibraltar waters were recorded, as opposed to 23 in 2011 and 67 in 2010. In December 2012, one day after an incursion by a Spanish warship, aRoyal NavyType 23 frigate,HMSSutherland arrived on a scheduled visit. Rather than taking on stores and fuel and proceeding as had been planned, the frigate and its Merlin helicopter conducted a patrol of Gibraltar waters as a message.[28]
The intensity of the disagreement about Gibraltar has been perceived in different ways by the two countries. According to former Spanish prime minister Felipe González, "For the British, Gibraltar is a visit to the dentist once a year when we meet to talk about it. For us, it is a stone in the shoe all day long".[29]
The United Kingdom and Spain have had several recent disputes overfishing rights, particularly with regards to theEuropean Union'sCommon Fisheries Policy. When Spain became amember state in 1986, it had the world's sixth largest fishing fleet,[30] and much of the economies ofGalicia,Asturias, andCantabria depended upon catches by Spanish boats outside Spain's nationalExclusive Economic Zone, just as they do today.
To prevent the fleets of other EU members (particularly Spain) taking up the UK's Common Fisheries Policyquota, the UK sought to create a framework that discriminated between British- and Spanish-owned boats, regardless offlag flown, so that its waters wouldn't be over-fished by foreign-owned trawlers. Due to fishing's importance to some of the regional economies of Spain, the Spanish government protested vehemently, but had no power to prevent the UK determining its own domestic policies. However, when theSingle European Act was implemented, in 1987, this became illegal underEU law, and a Spanish company successfully challenged the right of the British government to prevent Spanish fishermen taking up the British quota in what has now become known as theFactortame case. In total, £55m has been paid out by the British government to Spanish parties (both public and private) for loss of earnings.[31]
To this day, the large Spanish fishing fleet does the majority of its fishing outside Spain's EEZ, as far away asCanada andNamibia.[32] Nonetheless, a large part of its business comes from fishing in the waters of northern Europe, particularly those of the United Kingdom andIreland. At times of debate of the United Kingdom's declining fish stocks, this has caused strained relations between Spain and the UK, and particularly between Spain and the membership of thedevolvedScottish institutions, since Scotland is more dependent upon fishing than the rest of the UK.
Scotland held areferendum on independence from the UK on 18 September 2014. In November 2013 the Spanish Prime MinisterMariano Rajoy had stated that an independent Scotland would have to reapply for membership of the European Union, causing considerable irritation to theScottish Government.[33] Relations between the Spanish and British governments deteriorated further when the Scottish Government alleged that a senior UK Treasury official visited Spain ostensibly to co-ordinate British and Spanish opposition to the independence movements in Scotland and Catalonia.[34] Rajoy was one of the few European heads of government to explicitly voice opposition to Scottish independence, primarily due to his fears that it would encourage theseparatist drive in Catalonia.[35] On the issue ofCatalan independence, Prime MinisterDavid Cameron had said that "I don't believe that, in the end, [it's right to] try to ignore these questions of nationality, independence, identity"... I think it's right to make your arguments, take them on and then you let the people decide" though he also added that "I would never presume to tell people in Spain how to meet these challenges themselves; it's a matter for the Spanish Government and the Spanish Prime Minister."[36]
The2001 UK Census recorded 54,482 Spanish-born people living in the UK.[37] In comparison, it is estimated that 990,000British-born people live in Spain.[38][39] Of these, according to the BBC and contrary to popular belief, only about 21.5% are over the age of 65.[40]
In 2011, Spanish migration to the UK went up 85%.[41] As for 2012, it was recorded that 69,097 Spanish-born people live in the United Kingdom.[42] On the other hand, in the same period 397,535 British-born people were living in Spain[43]
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The list below is of British and Spanishtown twinnings.
The United Kingdom and Spain have close economic ties based on significant bilateral trade flows and investment. In 2024, the United Kingdom exported goods and services worth £20.9 billion to Spain and imported goods and services worth £44.5 billion from Spain. This made Spain the seventh largest trading partner for the British. In the same year, Spanish direct investment in the UK amounted to around £18 billion. Conversely, British investment in Spain amounted to around £90 billion in 2016, including investments by global British corporations in the pharmaceutical, energy, and automotive industries.[44] Numerous large companies from both countries have gained a foothold in each other's markets. The expansion of Spanish companies in the UK since the 2000s is particularly striking. For example, Banco Santander has acquired several British banks and employs almost 20,000 people in the UK. Numerous major British companies such asRolls Royce,GSK,Diageo, andBP, as well as numerous banks and insurance companies, are also represented in Spain.[45] In 2011, the Spanish airlineIberia merged withBritish Airways to form theInternational Airlines Group (IAG).
Tourism plays a prominent role in economic relations. Spain has been the favourite travel destination for British tourists for decades. In 2019, over 18 million British tourists visited Spain, accounting for around 21–22% of all foreign visitors to Spain. This made the United Kingdom by far the largest source market for the Spanish tourism sector, ahead of Germany and France. British tourists, many of whom are regular visitors, spent just under €18 billion in Spain, more than visitors from any other country.[46] Conversely, many Spaniards also travel to the UK, albeit in significantly smaller numbers.City tourism (e.g., to London) and thelanguage travel market (English courses) are important in this regard. Millions of people commute across the border every year: air traffic between the UK and Spain alone was among the busiest in the world before the crisis, with over 30 million passengers per year. This means that the volume of travel between the UK and Spain even exceeds that of neighbors such as the US and Canada.[47]
FollowingBrexit, Trade between theUnited Kingdom and Spain is governed by theEU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement since 1 January 2021.[48][49]
Cultural relations between the United Kingdom and Spain are intense and diverse, supported by exchanges in areas such as education, language, art, popular culture, and civil society. An important vehicle for cultural relations is mutual language and educational exchange. As early as 1940—in the midst of a politically difficult period—theBritish Council opened its first office and school in Madrid to promote the English language and British culture in Spain, and today it has several branches throughout the country. A bilingual education programme has been in place since the 1990s, and English is widely spoken as a foreign language in Spain.[50] Conversely, Spain is keen to maintain a presence for its culture in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1991, theInstituto Cervantes runs a cultural centre in London and branches (e.g., in Manchester and Leeds) that offer Spanish courses and organise Spanish cultural events. Spanish is very popular as a foreign language in the UK; it is one of the most popular second foreign languages in schools and universities. Close ties also exist in the field of higher education and research. Following the end of British participation in theErasmus Programme, a bilateral education agreement was signed in 2023 to mutually recognise university entrance qualifications and promote exchange programs.[51]
There is lively mutual reception in the arts and media. British literature—fromShakespeare toHarry Potter—is widely read in Spain, while Spanish authors (such asCervantes'Don Quixote or contemporary writers such asCarlos Ruiz Zafón) are well known and have been translated in the UK. There are also diverse contacts in film and music: British musicians regularly perform at major festivals in Spain, and Spanish filmmakers find an interested audience in London. Joint productions and cultural exchange programmes (e.g., as part of the British Council Arts Program or Spanish Culture Weeks in the UK) strengthen mutual understanding. In 2016, Spain and the UK jointly celebrated the 400th anniversary of the deaths of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare with events on both sides of the Channel.[52]
Sport plays a special role as a unifying element of popular culture. Infootball —the most popular sport in both countries and brought to Spain by British immigrants — there is a natural rivalry as well as mutual appreciation. Spanish football stars (such asDavid Silva,Fernando Torres, andDavid De Gea) have played in thePremier League, while British coaches and players such asJohn Toshack,David Beckham, andJude Bellingham have been or are active in Spanish clubs. European Cup matches between top English and Spanish teams attract a lot of attention in both countries and theSpanish andEnglish national football teams have also faced each other frequently, including in important matches such as the final of theUEFA Euro 2024.
TheEmbassy of Spain is located inLondon. Spain also has consulates general inEdinburgh andManchester.
TheEmbassy of the United Kingdom is located inMadrid. The United Kingdom also has a consulate general inBarcelona and consulates inAlicante,Ibiza,Las Palmas,Málaga,Palma de Mallorca andSanta Cruz de Tenerife.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link): "[Spain] has insisted that allowing the Gibraltarians to retain ties with Britain would constitute a partial disruption of Spain's territorial integrity in violation of paragraph 6 of 1514(XV)"
