Britain should rejoin the European Union, Gibraltar’s chief minister has said.
Fabian Picardo said the British overseas territory’s new Brexit deal could be the blueprint for the UK’s return to the bloc.
The treaty that Sir Keir Starmer struck with the European Commission makes Gibraltar effectively, but not formally, part of the EU’s Schengen Zone of free movement.
“I hope to see the UK rejoin the EU,” Mr Picardo told representatives of Spain’s business community at an event in Madrid.
“The British public have come to see that they were led down the garden path by the Leave campaign,” he said of the 2016 Brexit referendum.
“The treaty on Gibraltar could be a road map for a rapprochement between the UK and the EU, something we desire to see.”
The deal, set to come into force in July, erases the land border between Spain and Gibraltar, enabling the free flow of some 15,000 workers a day, and moves it to Gibraltar’s airport.
Britons arriving at the airport will have to show their passports to Gibraltarian officials and then Spanish guards, who will have the final say on entry to the British overseas territory.
The Gibraltar Brexit deal is set to come into force in July and erases the land border between Spain and the overseas territory
Speaking in Spanish, Mr Picardo hailed the first international accord on Gibraltar since Spain handed Britain control in 1713 as “truly historic”.
He encouraged Spanish investors to move business to Gibraltar because of its dynamic trading environment and use of British common law to solve disputes more quickly than in Spain.
Mr Picardo said companies should relocate to the “Campo de Gibraltar” area, which includes towns on the Spanish side of the border in a post-deal “shared zone of prosperity”.
According to the chief minister, 3,000 applications for residency were received in Gibraltar, triple the usual number for an entire year, in the two months after June 2025 when the deal was agreed in principle.
Sources from Gibraltar’s government said most applications were from British citizens seeking to enjoy freedom of movement into Spain, without it counting against the post-Brexit, visa-free travel limit of 90 days every 180 days.
Under the terms of the treaty, which was published in full in February, Spain will have a veto on residency permits in Gibraltar once the deal enters into force.
It was described as a betrayal by opposition parties horrified that it surrendered control of its borders to EU member Spain, which has long claimed the territory is Spanish.
Mark Francois, the chairman of the European Research Group of Brexiteer MPs, said there was a plot by the UK Government to take Britain back into Europe.
“I bumped into Fabian Picardo just recently and he kindly offered to brief me on this new deal – but, funnily enough, he didn’t mention anything about it being a roadmap for Britain to rejoin the EU!” he told The Telegraph.
“Labour have been far too weak in negotiating with Spain over the Rock, precisely because our Prime Minister, Mr Second Referendum himself, remains a Remainer – and always will,” Mr Francois said.
Mark Francois, the chairman of the European Research Group of Brexiteer MPs, says there is a plot to take Britain back into Europe – Lucy North /PA
The Government has repeatedly said it would not be rejoining the EU, its single market or customs union and that there would be no return to freedom of movement.
It has, however, agreed to align to EU plant and animal health rules to boost trade as part of Sir Keir’s “reset” deal with Brussels.
Gibraltar will follow some EU rules and be subject to the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction as part of its deal. It agreed to increase alcohol and tobacco excise to minimum EU levels in the negotiations over the border deal.
British ministers have defended alignment as a pragmatic choice for economic growth, despite accusations it makes the UK an EU rule-taker and is a stepping stone to rejoining the bloc.
Naomi Smith, chief executive of the pro-EU Best for Britain campaign group, said: “Fabian Picardo is simply saying what most voters are all too painfully aware of, that the destination sold to Britain was never the one on the ticket – which is why the majority now want the UK to pursue membership of the EU.”