More than 380 million pounds in commercial imports from Spain to Gibraltar.
186 spending by border workers.
Almost 73 more in consumption by Gibraltarians in Spain and 62 million in second homes on Spanish soil.
These are the cold and shocking numbers that the socio-economic study of the
impact of Brexit in La Línea de la Concepción
, prepared by the City Council of this municipality after the referendum of June 23, 2016, is one of the few reports that analyzes and collects in figures what
the departure of the United Kingdom from Europe on January 1
will mean for the
Campo de Gibraltar region
, and also for the British colony.
Behind these data there are people, companies, workers and human social relations who start the new year with the enormous concern of the pandemic, like everyone else, but also with the uncertainty that it will happen with their immediate future.
The Gibraltar issue, beyond the historical conflict of sovereignty, has a brutal impact on the day-to-day life of citizens in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and on both sides of the border.
Hence the importance of the agreement reached, at the last moment, between the governments of both sides, to turn the neighborhood of the colony
"into an area of shared prosperity
.
"
All this thanks to the fact that, now, the gate can be eliminated and it becomes
a Schengen area, controlled by Spain
.
The flow of goods and people will be fluid and the situation, in principle, must be very positive for all the actors involved.
And it is that the aforementioned study indicates that
the direct impact of the Rock on the economy of the region is 586 million pounds, around 695 million euros,
and also puts on the table other problems of the municipality of Linea, such as the scarce industrialization, so its fundamental pillar is the service sector, highly demanded by the llanitos;
lack of investment or a city council without sufficient liquidity.
Mayor
Juan Franco
(La Línea 100x100) speaks very clearly about the impact that a lack of agreement would have had on commercial relations between La Roca and its neighboring country.
"It would have been the last straw for an area that was heavily affected in terms of unemployment such as Campo de Gibraltar and mainly our town."
According to calculations by the Cross-Border Group (an organization made up of social and economic agents from Campo de Gibraltar and El Peñón), around 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this region depends on its economic and commercial activity by the neighbors.
Business relationships, cross-border workers, consumption and second homes are the pillars on which these relationships are based.
According to data from the official Gibraltar Statistics page, as of October this year there were
14,402 cross-border workers
registered
.
Of them, a great majority, 9,258 have Spanish nationality.
In the study of the City Council of La Línea, there were 5,165 Spanish workers, so the economic impact is today greater than that indicated then.
One of the options advocated to avoid a financial disaster in this region, with a high unemployment rate, is that there is a Schengen border.
On the other side, the uncertainty was shared, although there are some aspects that, far from this environment, perhaps are not taken into account.
The song of tax haven no longer has a route.
It has been many years since the Rock ceased to be one, although there are tax advantages for the companies that are located here.
Online gambling is one of the powerful markets
and the entire Brexit process has allowed only the big brands to continue operating on British soil, although obviously a damage has been noted with the departure of some to Malta or Luxembourg.
Besides tourism,
the other great economic engine is the financial sphere
.
It is true that the large financial institutions have gradually abandoned Gibraltar.
However, 70% of operations are carried out with the United Kingdom, something that Brexit will not prevent, obviously.
The national bank,
Natwest
and one of more recent creation such as
Turikum
are benchmarks in this area.
Precisely the last of them has a lot to do with the specialization to which, according to industry sources consulted by El Mundo, the situation has forced.
"They have disposed of many products considered toxic and have many controls in the legislation
to become a benchmark within the Bitcoin market and especially the Blockchain
.
"
The industry that presents the most unknowns is tourism.
Something that remains to be seen due to the health situation caused by the Covid that has triggered infections in recent weeks both in Gibraltar and La Línea.
This also has an impact on the Bay of Algeciras arc since "like it or not" most of the workforce corresponds to Spanish employees.
At this time, neither the damage of the non-agreement, which was so close, nor the impact of the approved measures can be calibrated.
The Covid does not understand borders and on day four, the first working day of 2021, activity will be minimal because many of the shops on the Rock are closed and therefore without workers.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
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Spain
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