The flags of the European Union, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom, in Gibraltar on March 28, 2017. -

JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

The citizens of Gibraltar "can breathe".

London and Madrid have reached "an agreement in principle" on Gibraltar, which will allow freedom of movement to be maintained on the border between Spain and the British enclave located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, announced on Thursday the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzalez Laya.

The Schengen agreements, which guarantee the free movement of people between 26 European states without passport control, will now apply to Gibraltar, the minister said.

#brexit agreement in principle between 🇪🇸🇬🇧 on #gibraltar



Time for hope


A new relation


We tear down barriers 2 build shared prosperity


Firm on principles, commited to citizens pic.twitter.com/qlBbqScYQu

- Arancha González (@AranchaGlezLaya) December 31, 2020

No "hard Brexit"

The agreement, which was reached just a few hours before the entry into force of Brexit, Thursday at midnight (23h GMT), thus prevents the border between Gibraltar and Spain from being transformed from Friday into the only border " hard 'between the UK and the EU.

“There is no longer a barrier.

Schengen applies to Gibraltar (in its relations) with Spain, which makes it possible to remove the controls between Gibraltar and Spain, this makes it possible to remove the barrier, ”said Arancha González Laya at a press conference to Madrid.

"We have reached an agreement in principle with the United Kingdom which will serve as the basis for a future treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom concerning Gibraltar", she continued.

The agreement “will allow us to remove barriers and move forward towards an area of ​​shared prosperity.

Firmness in principles, progress for citizens ”, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez tweeted shortly after the announcement.

Iniciamos una nueva etapa.

Alcanzamos un principio de acuerdo con Reino Unido sobre Gibraltar que nos permitirá eliminar barreras y avanzar hacia una zona de prosperidad compartida.

Firmeza en los principios, progreso para la ciudadanĂ­a.



Gracias a los negociadores de Exteriores.

pic.twitter.com/8LQFfjLz3U

- Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) December 31, 2020

Almost 15,000 people cross the border every day

Since the post-Brexit agreement concluded on December 24 by London and Brussels, which did not apply to the case of Gibraltar, Spain and the United Kingdom were engaged in a real race against time to avoid a return to Gibraltar from a border qualified as "hard", that is to say with passport controls for people and customs controls on goods at the border with the enclave.

Some 15,000 people - the vast majority of them Spaniards - residing in Spain cross the border every day to go to work in the British enclave.

In order to limit the impact of failed negotiations and the return of border controls, Gibraltar's local government had established a register to allow these thousands of cross-border workers to continue to come to the Rock every day without complications.

But the return of passports would have affected tourism, which represents an important source of income for this very prosperous enclave whose economy is based on services.

Authorities in Gibraltar also feared logistical problems for imports, as all food products consumed in the enclave were imported.

World

Brexit: Passport, permit, telephone ... What will change on January 1 for us, European citizens

World

Brexit: Will Spain get Gibraltar back?

  • Borders

  • Negotiation

  • EU

  • Brexit

  • United Kingdom

  • Spain