The European Union and the United Kingdom reached an agreement on the circulation of people between Spain and the British enclave of Gibraltar, ending a standoff that had engulfed the two since Brexit.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory with around 38,000 residents. The city has been under British rule since 1713. It is encompassed by Spain that has advocated for a long time for the restitution of the city to the country. After Brexit, tension on the status of the border periodically resurfaced. With the UK leaving the EU, it was unclear how to manage border controls for people and goods.
Under the new system, citizens of Gibraltar and Spain will be able to cross the border using only their residence cards for Gibraltar and their ID for Spain. A passport will no longer be required and will not need to be stamped. In the years since Brexit became official in 2020, there have been occasional spats between the UK and Spain, leading to enforced border controls and causing massive queues for passport checks.
Border officials from both Gibraltar and Spain will control the passports of those landing at the airport of the British enclave. The system, according to the British Foreign Office, will share similarities with the checks conducted on the Eurostar line between the UK and France.
Goods also were part of the talks. There is a principle of indirect taxation for specific goods to avoid market disruption, for instance on tobacco from Gibraltar. In general, the EU and the UK agreed on a possible customs union between Gibraltar and the bloc.
“This is about the removal of the last fence in Europe,” said European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. He was speaking in Brussels, where the agreement was unveiled together with Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo.
