ARCHIVED - Spain wants to prevent Gibraltar from being an external border of the EU

The imminent prospect of a hard Brexit leaves many questions unresolved

Arancha González Laya believes that it is still possible to reach an agreement with the United Kingdom.

The failure to agree a trade deal between the UK and EU has many implications for British nationals, both those living in Spain and Gibraltar, as well as those planning to visit in the future, as the possibility of a hard Brexit looks increasingly likely.

One of the thorny topics which as yet remains unresolved is the functioning of the border between Gibraltar and the Spanish mainland in Cadíz, within the Andalucía Region, where thousands of those who work on “the Rock” cross the existing border on a daily basis.

Once the UK leaves the EU, taking Gibraltar with it, this creates a situation whereby there is an external EU border on this corner of the Spanish coastline between a Schengen nation and a country no longer within the EU and Schengen zone.

This is then a frontier border point, and to cross it a full custom border control point will need to be created, and anyone crossing between the two countries will need to pass through a passport control, a situation which will understandably create significant problems for those working on the rock and living on the Spanish mainland.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, explained on Tuesday that Spain is seeking an agreement with the United Kingdom to prevent Gibraltar from being considered an "external border" of the European Union in the face of 'Brexit', which would require the installation of this full customs entry border and passport control.

Answering questions from journalists about how the border crossing will be controlled as of January 1st, the minister said that, "if there is no change", the passage to the Rock will become an "external border" on that date. However, she said that "there is still the possibility that an agreement can be reached" with the United Kingdom to avoid this situation.

Her comments were reinforced by Foreign Minister, González Laya, who said that "This is the wish of Spain, this is the philosophy of Spain, which is trying to reach an agreement."

The intention is to reach an agreement permitting workers on the Rock to enter and leave by showing their ID, rather than through a formal passport control.

Spain has already said that 4 million euros will be spent next year creating a new border control.

New variant in the UK leads to changes in Gibraltan procedures:
Gibraltar has decided to implement the same measures as Spain to try and limit a potential spread of the new variant in its territory. It is known that one case of the variant was detected in November on Gibraltar.

Only those who have legal residence in Spain or Gibraltar or are working in Gibraltar but live on the mainland are being permitted to cross the frontier between the two countries and the Gibraltan Government has imposed the following measures on air travel :

RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL BY AIR INTO GIBRALTAR
As a result of the continued rise of COVID 19 infections arising from the new strain of the virus detected in the United Kingdom (of which one instance has also been identified in Gibraltar) additional restrictions for those travelling by air into Gibraltar have been agreed between the Governments of Gibraltar and the United Kingdom.

The following additional restrictions have therefore been invoked and, unless passengers comply with the requirements and fall within the exemptions specified below, they will be refused entry into Gibraltar.

Only the following passengers will be permitted to disembark:
1. Individuals who are registered Gibraltarians, either by birth or naturalisation;
2. Individuals with residence in Gibraltar, upon demonstrating satisfactory proof of residence;
3. Sea farer on transit to a vessel which is berthed at Gibraltar and has immigration pre clearance letter issued by the Borders and Coastguards Agency;
4. Spanish nationals who are in transit to Spain;
5. Individuals travelling to Gibraltar on transit to Spain and who hold lawful residence in Spain, upon demonstrating satisfactory proof of residence;
6. People who are carrying out a work activity in Gibraltar or who are taking up employment in Gibraltar and who provide proof on arrival;
7. Military personnel who have been issued with Travel Orders;
8. Individuals who hold an electronic letter issued by the Borders and Coastguard Agency granting that individual permission to enter Gibraltar.
The restrictions will apply from midnight on the 23rd December 2020.
These restrictions are in addition to those announced by the Chief Minister yesterday in Parliament on requirements for COVID testing. These were the requirement to have a negative PCR test within 72 hours, or fast test at Gibraltar Airport.