Spain has officially removed Gibraltar from its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions after 35 years, a move confirmed by a ministerial order published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado on Saturday. The decision, long anticipated, reflects technical criteria rather than diplomatic gestures: Gibraltar signed a bilateral tax cooperation agreement with Spain in 2019, which entered into force in March 2021, and its implementation has been deemed satisfactory.
The Spanish Ministry of Finance emphasized that Gibraltar is now a member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and no longer maintains a low- or zero-tax regime under OECD standards. The territory also participates in the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and has ratified Pillar Two, the OECD agreement establishing a 15% global minimum tax for multinational corporations.
Technical Recognition, Not Diplomatic Courtesy
Gibraltar's removal from the list is not a diplomatic courtesy but a technical acknowledgment that it complies with international tax rules—something that could not be verified for 35 years. Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, welcomed the move with relief, calling it 'a historic injustice of more than 30 years' and stating it 'should have happened a long time ago'.
The decision also carries immediate European implications. The agreement proposed by the European Commission to the Council in February 2026 includes commitments on fair taxation and anti-tax-evasion standards aligned with OECD criteria, which critics had long demanded. Gibraltar's removal comes as the regulatory framework between the Rock, the EU, and the United Kingdom takes final shape after Brexit.
Despite the official change, organizations such as the Tax Justice Network rank Gibraltar 37th in their corporate tax haven index and estimate that the territory causes annual revenue losses of US$7.354 billion for other countries. Experts in international taxation point out that official lists only measure formal exchange of information, not actual tax practices.
Russia Added to the List with Limited Impact
At the other end of this update, Russia has been added to Spain's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for the first time. The European Union had already placed Russia on its own blacklist in February 2023, citing Moscow's lack of cooperation on tax matters. Spain is now following the same approach, identifying a tax regime considered harmful under international standards.
In practice, the direct economic impact of this move is limited. Sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine have already severely restricted economic flows between Spain and Russia, so inclusion on the list simply adds another layer of scrutiny to trade relations that are already heavily constrained. For more on the broader sanctions landscape, see our coverage of EU Sanctions on Russia Stumble Over Oil, Cod, and Patriarch Kirill.
The update to Spain's list reflects a broader European trend toward aligning national tax policies with EU and OECD standards. As the continent grapples with tax transparency and fairness, the removal of Gibraltar and addition of Russia underscore the technical and political dimensions of these designations.
