MADRID — Spain’s government seems to be softening its position on Gibraltar, according to a blueprint for Brexit negotiations.

Instead of seeking Madrid's immediate assumption of sovereignty over the Rock, the new plan focuses on abolishing Gibraltar's low tax regime while preserving the rights of Spanish workers in the territory.

The blueprint is contained in a Brexit briefing sent to lawmakers in Congress. A copy of the document was obtained by POLITICO. The newspaper El País reported earlier Wednesday on Spain's new negotiating position.

The European Council’s guidelines for Brexit negotiations with the U.K. give Madrid de facto veto power over whether the final agreement is applied to Gibraltar.

It remains to be seen whether Gibraltar is prepared to renounce its low tax regime.

“Spain can’t accept that the EU negotiates with the U.K. a relation between Gibraltar and the EU that is not fully acceptable for Spain: that is, a relation compatible with the Spanish position over the territorial claim, which respects Spanish interests, [the interests] of citizens of the ‘Campo de Gibraltar’ [the Spanish area surrounding Gibraltar], and which prevents a situation of unfair competition with the Spanish territory,” the document states.

Spain considers Gibraltar a British colony and wants to negotiate its future bilaterally with London. But the briefing seems to suggest a possible temporary solution for the territory that doesn’t address the essence of the sovereignty question if conditions about the tax regime and the Spanish workers are met.

Spain's explicit interest in the rights of Spanish workers in Gibraltar may mean Madrid is not seriously considering blocking free transit across the border. And the demand about a new tax regime on the Rock, while postponing an outright demand for sovereignty over Gibraltar, may be part of a new softer approach under the command of Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis, who was appointed in November. Dastis was born in Jerez, near Gibraltar.

His predecessor, Jose Manuel García Margallo, put forward a plan for shared sovereignty over the British territory and boasted that he would put the Spanish flag on Gibraltar. His position raised fears in Gibraltar that Spain would immediately push its sovereign claim or else block the British territory from enjoying any of the benefits of a potential EU-U.K. agreement after Brexit, even closing the frontier altogether — as the dictator Francisco Franco once did.

Notwithstanding the more dulcet tones from Madrid, Spain's long-term goal is still to retake control of Gibraltar, which the country ceded to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Dastis has said that his goal is the same as his predecessor Margallo.

Moreover, it remains to be seen whether Gibraltar is prepared to renounce its low tax regime. The Rock is wealthy with a GDP per head of €62,000. Much of its economy depends on gambling, banking and financial services companies attracted by its low taxes.

The briefing also makes clear that Madrid wants to maintain “the current status enjoyed by European citizens residing in the U.K. (and British in Spain),” according to the document.

It also states that Madrid wants these rights to be granted to all citizens residing abroad for more than five years, but it also advocates — although without much detail — for some sort of coverage for those who’ve been living for more three months in a foreign country.

Finally, the document says that Madrid also wants to keep the situation of health care and social security as similar as possible to the current status.