Lucrecio Fernández, the Government’s representative for the Andalusia region, insisted Spain’s position on Gibraltar will be “enormously advantageous” now Britain has left the European Union. Mr Fernández said the agreement Spain and the UK reached through a new memorandum of understanding recognises the need for Spain to sign off its “approval” to any future agreement between the EU and Gibraltar. The Spanish official insisted the arrangement Spain will have over Gibraltar will be “enormously advantageous because any agreement between the EU and Gibraltar needs the approval of Spain, and this is a fact all parties recognise.”

“And also because, for the very first time, the UK and Spain have struck a bilateral memorandum of understanding.”

The European Council’s Article 50 guidelines state the EU cannot reach an agreement with the UK over Gibraltar without Madrid’s approval.

It reads: “After the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom.”

Despite this, then Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, reassured Gibraltarians it would always remain a British territory.

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The comments followed Mr Fernández visit to border facilities between Spain and Gibraltar during which he issued a calming message to citizens concerned about potential travel disruption between Gibraltar and Spain.

Things are going as we expected they were going to, which reflects they have worked well because there is an exit agreement that regulates the rights and obligations of the parties.

“Everything remains the same, nothing changes and therefore the operation of the border crossing has not undergone any type of alteration, neither during the weekend nor today.”

Mr Fernández also said the Spanish Government remains committed to “its conditions and casuistry,” adding: “Citizens must be calm because normality is the protagonist of these days.”

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But despite talking about normality, only last month Spanish MEP Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo invited Madrid to take the “golden opportunity” of Brexit as a change to rediscuss control over Gibraltar.

Gibraltar was taken from the Spanish in 1704 and officially ceded to the British Government under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

Support for overseas territory status has remained stable despite the vast majority of local voters backing remain (95 percent) in the European Union referendum of 2016.

Mr Garcia-Margallo said: “We have to immediately negotiate the Gibraltar issue.

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“If we miss this historical moment, the likes of which we have not seen since 1713, we will miss a golden opportunity.”

Any claim of taking back control over the overseas territory was quickly dismissed by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, who insisted the sovereignty of the region cannot be usurped.

Mr Picardo told Euronews: “As Spain matures even further in a modern European democracy, she’s got to leave behind the concept she can somehow usurp the sovereignty of Gibraltar on the heads of the people of Gibraltar – without the people of Gibraltar being consulted in that process.”

Details on Gibraltar’s future after Brexit remain unclear, and could be complicated by Spain’s advantageous starting point in negotiations.

Madrid has previously stated that for Gibraltar to keep its vital access to the single market, Spain would demand co-sovereignty over the region for at least a temporary period.

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