Does the Spanish Parliament have to vote on the Gibraltar treaty?

Question

Accepted Answer

The Spanish Government says no, because the treaty is concluded by the EU and the UK rather than by Spain. The PP and Vox argue that the Spanish Constitution requires the Cortes Generales to authorise it.
Article 94 of the Spanish Constitution requires the prior authorisation of the Cortes Generales before the Spanish State consents to be bound by certain treaties, including treaties of a political character and those affecting the territorial integrity of the State. Other treaties only need to be reported to the Congress and the Senate.
The Government's position: the Government has not submitted the treaty to a vote in Congress, on the basis that it is an agreement concluded by the European Union with the United Kingdom in respect of Gibraltar, not a bilateral treaty between Spain and the United Kingdom. On the EU side, the treaty is approved through the European Parliament's consent and a decision of the Council.
The opposition's position: on Thursday 26 February 2026, PP sources said any agreement on Gibraltar must be authorised by the Congress and the Senate for constitutional reasons. On Wednesday 4 March 2026, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo argued it is a mixed agreement that the Cortes must validate, and called for a binding vote. Vox has argued that every EU national parliament should ratify it as a mixed agreement, a view the European Commission and the Council have rejected.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares appeared before the foreign affairs committees of the Congress and the Senate to explain the draft treaty, but there was no vote.
In the sources reviewed, no party has said whether, in government, it would put the treaty to a vote in the Cortes, or what legal effect such a vote would have on a treaty concluded by the EU.

Does the Spanish Parliament have to vote on the Gibraltar treaty?

Short answer

Detailed answer

The Government's position

The opposition's position