Proposal to Great Britain
Spain and the EU want to open the border with Gibraltar

11/25/2022, 21:11

Following Brexit, the status of the border between Spain and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar remains open. Spain and the EU now propose to open the crossing. This should “guarantee freedom of movement” for citizens on both sides. The British side remains cautious.

Spain and the EU have proposed to the UK government to open the border between Spain and Gibraltar. A “comprehensive proposal” has been presented to Great Britain that “seeks to eliminate the border fence and guarantee freedom of movement,” said the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. Such a measure would make Spain, as the representative of the Schengen area, “responsible for controlling Gibraltar’s external borders”, he added. The Schengen area allows its citizens to travel freely without internal border controls in 27 countries, four of which are not part of the EU.

Initially there was no reaction to the London proposal. However, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said in a statement to Parliament that Albares’s comments “represented Spain’s position” in the ongoing post-Brexit negotiations over the future of the British enclave. His government and Britain have “their own proposals on the table, which should benefit people across the region.”

Brexit had raised fears that a new “hard border” could emerge between Gibraltar and the EU. But just hours before the UK is due to leave the EU on January 1, 2021, negotiators reached a framework agreement under which Gibraltar would benefit from Schengen rules. Details of the deal have not yet been finalized.

The British enclave in southern Spain, just under seven square kilometres, depends entirely on imports to supply its 34,000 inhabitants. The agreement was of crucial importance in order not to complicate the movement of goods with new customs procedures.