The UK and the EU have clinched what they claim is a “historic” agreement on Gibraltar’s future, concluding years of fractious post-Brexit negotiations over the status of the British overseas territory.
The deal will see dual Schengen and British passport controls established at Gibraltar’s port and airport and the removal of ID and resident card checks for the 15,000 people who cross the border daily between the Rock, as it’s known informally, and neighbouring Spain.
The agreement will also remove checks on goods and boost EU-UK cooperation in other areas including state aid, taxation, and law enforcement.
Gibraltar, whose status as a British territory Spain has long disputed, will continue to remain part of the UK under the deal.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič hailed the “historic agreement”, adding that it “reinforces a new chapter in our relationship” following the UK’s formal departure from the EU in 2020.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the current Labour government “inherited a situation” from the previous Conservative administration “which put Gibraltar’s economy and way of life under threat”.
“Today’s breakthrough delivers a practical solution after years of uncertainty,” he said.
Negotiations over Gibraltar’s status have been fraught for several years. The future of the territory was not settled in the ensuing 2020 EU-UK free trade agreement, which followed the shock Brexit referendum in 2016.
Approximately 34,000 people currently live in Gibraltar, a 6.7 square kilometre territory on the southern tip of Spain that was ceded to Britain by Madrid in 1713.
(jp)