Brexit: Spain issues an ultimatum to the United Kingdom on the fate of Gibraltar
The fluidity at the border with Gibraltar, where thousands of people pass every day, is at the center of the debate.
Madrid and London have until Friday to reach an agreement.
AFP / File
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The Spanish government has just issued an ultimatum to London to resolve the fate of Gibraltar.
Madrid says it is ready to lift the border if an agreement is reached with the United Kingdom.
This is in order to avoid the application of a hard Brexit, which would isolate this British enclave located at the extreme tip of Andalusia and would have dramatic consequences for the economy of the region.
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With our correspondent in Madrid
,
Diane Cambon
On January 1, will endless traffic jams form at the Gibraltar border?
This scenario is not ruled out if Madrid and London fail to reach an agreement by Friday.
The
fluidity at the border
, where transit every day thousands of people, is a central issue.
It would appear that the 15,000 cross-border workers could be given a pass, avoiding having to teach their passports, but this is not the case for the 200 trucks and tourists who enter the British enclave every day.
Rapprochement with Spain?
Other questions also need to be resolved, such as maintaining Spanish social security for the British from Gibraltar who live in Spain or even the management of the airport, since Gibraltar is going to leave European airspace.
Madrid wants the European agency Frontex to manage border control, which implies the presence of Spanish police on the Rock, which London does not want to hear about.
Never has Gibraltar been so close to approaching Spain in 300 years of British occupation.
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To listen: Brexit: what fate for Gibraltar?
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Brexit
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