The UK has agreed to a fluid border between Gibraltar and Spain – which will not require checks on people crossing, clearing the way for a post-Brexit deal with the EU over the territory.
Under the plan, Gibraltar will become an associate member of the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone with border security handed to the EU.
The deal comes after UK foreign secretary held talks with Gibraltar chief minister Fabian Picardo in Gibraltar before the pair headed to Brussels, with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic announcing the agreement after years of post-Brexit wrangling.
The future of the border between the British overseas territory and Spain has been disputed since the UK decided to leave the bloc in 2016, with any deal focussing on trade and travel.
The territory, which has had British governance since 1713, is strategically important for the UK due to its positioning on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsular, at the entrance to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic ocean and opposite North Africa.
Spain, which is part of the EU Schengen area, has long-disputed the UK’s ownership of the territory and 96% of the 38,000 Gibraltan population voted to stay in the EU back in 2016.
A reciprocal deal on the border between Gibraltar and Spain means Gibraltar residents don’t get their passports entering Spain and vice versa. (AP)
Since Brexit, a reciprocal deal to not stamp passports has been in place on both sides of border for Gibraltar residents entering Spain and Spaniards travelling the other way.
However, all sides have wanted to get a proper deal in place before the EU’s much-delayed new entry/exit system comes into place, which is now planned for October this year.
Announcing the agreement on Wednesday, Lammy posted on X: “Gibraltar’s economy and way of life was under threat. Today we have secured a practical solution which safeguards sovereignty, jobs and growth.
“Working in lockstep with Fabian Picardo we have ensured Gibraltar’s interests – as part of the UK family – are at the heart of this agreement.”
What is the existing Gibraltar deal?
Since the Brexit vote in 2016, the future of trade and travel between the British overseas territory and Spain has been disputed.
The UK officially left the European Union on 31 January 2020, and as Spain is an EU nation and a member of the Schengen area, new border regulations came into place.
Despite 96% of Gibraltarians voting to stay part of the EU, the Brexit vote posed a whole new raft of bureaucratic problems when travelling and trading with neighbouring Spain.
Gibraltar was not covered by the Brexit agreement made in December 2020 and, as such, negotiations led to a temporary deal, signed with just hours before Gibraltar was due to become the only UK territory with a so-called “hard Brexit”.
Chief minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo has said the British territory’s post-Brexit future rests on strengthening its ties with the UK. (AP)
This temporary arrangement has enabled Gibraltarians to remain part of the 29-nation Schengen border-free area, with minimal checks at the Spanish border.
The agreement allows for free movement between Gibraltar and much of the EU with Gibraltar residents able to cross using residence cards, without needing to have their passports stamped.
An estimated 15,000 people cross the border with Spain every day with Spanish citizens able to cross using a government ID card.
As part of the deal, Gibraltar can currently join EU programmes and policies with Spain acting as a guarantor.
What do we know about the new deal?
Gibraltar will join the passport-free European Schengen area as an associate member and checks will not be required on people crossing the border.
There will be dual border control checks for arrivals by air at Gibraltar airport, carried out by Gibraltar and Spanish officials.
Spanish officials will take responsibility for the Schengen Area in a model that mirrors French police operating in London’s St Pancras station.
The deal also secures an arrangement for goods and customs to enter Gibraltar across the land border.
Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020.
Speaking after the deal was struck, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: “It safeguards the integrity of Schengen and the single market, while ensuring stability, legal certainty and prosperity for the region.”
Meanwhile, Gibraltar’s Picardo said the deal would “protect future generations of British Gibraltarians and does not in any way affect our British sovereignty”.
“Now is the time to look beyond the arguments of the past and towards a time of renewed co-operation and understanding. Now the deal is done, it’s time to finalise the treaty.”
Why is Gibraltar so important to the UK?
Although just 2.6 square miles Gibraltar has been key to British interests in the Mediterranean and north Africa for over 300 years.
Gibraltarians are largely in favour of keeping British sovereignty with the most recent referendum, held in 2002, seeing almost 99% of voters reject a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain.
Geographically Gibraltar’s position is crucial to the UK, it sits on a vital shipping lane that sees billions of pounds of trade pass through the straight and sits less than nine miles from north Africa.
The territory is integral to the UK’s military and defence, with RAF Gibraltar serving as a staging post for aircraft on operations and as a supporting base for NATO exercises.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship RFA Mounts Bay is docked at Gibraltar military port, with the Spanish Port of Algeciras seen in the background. (Getty Images)
The straight of Gibraltar serves a choke-point for ships entering the sea hosting a permanent presence of the Royal Navy, through the Gibraltar Squadron, which can potentially monitor ships entering the straight en-route to conflict zones in the eastern Mediterranean.
The UK has specifically expressed concern about Russian ships entering British waters in recent months and Gibraltar’s location means they can monitor any enemy warships passing the straight.
Economically, Gibraltar is an international hub for finance, insurance and online gambling, due to favourable tax rates for these industries.
The UK has a significant trade relationship with Gibraltar, with imports and exports totalling £7.3 billion in the four quarters to the end of 2024.
Is Gibraltar part of Spain or the UK?
Spain maintains a claim to the peninsula, ceded to the British crown under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, following the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Spanish government describe Gibraltar as a colony and say the de facto occupation by the British does not meet the requirements of international law, and would like the territory returned to Spain.
Despite this the UK has repeatedly stated that The Rock will remain British, with Gibraltarian citizens voting emphatically to remain part of the crown in referendums held in 1967 and 2002.
Gibraltar’s 1969 constitution confirms that there can be no transfer of sovereignty to Spain against the wishes of locals yet previous political spats have led to some Spanish officials to threatening to close the 1.2km border on their side.
People use red phone booths in Gibraltar. (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 this proposed a whole new set of problems for Spain and the UK, with the end of free movement to Europe.
Spain initially asserted their position that any negotiations concerning Gibraltar must take place in parallel to EU talks, which was agreed and the temporary agreement outlined above was put into place.
Jose Manuel Albares, the Spanish minister for foreign affairs warned as recently as last month that the border issue would need to be settled if Starmer wanted to pursue a closer relationship with the EU.
Since the temporary agreement was made four years ago Spain has taken a more pragmatic line on any treaty with an emphasis on normalising relations on the issue.
“We want to work for the development of a prosperous, social, economic area that encompasses the whole area of Gibraltar, and also the Campo de Gibraltar,” Spanish president Pedro Sanchez said last year.