Spain signed Monday a fiscal treaty with Britain on Gibraltar as Brexit nears, to fight tax fraud and money laundering via the British overseas territory.
Signed by Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, the text was to be countersigned later in the day by David Lidington, Prime Minister Theresa May's effective deputy, according to a Spanish foreign ministry statement.
It must then be approved by the Spanish cabinet and ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
The treaty was part of a deal sealed in November between London and the European Union (EU) on Brexit, as were four other bilateral deals on Gibraltar.
For Madrid, it is "essential" that Gibraltar's departure from the EU, planned for March 29, takes place "in an orderly way and in keeping with Spanish interests in terms of fighting fraud and tax evasion."
Spain welcomed the treaty, saying it set "clear rules to more easily resolve conflicts of tax residence" and allowed for "the reduction and elimination of tax fraud and (other) effects that harm the Spanish Treasury, deriving from the nature of Gibraltar's tax regime."
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