It is about facilitating the transit of more than 15,000 employees (of which 10,000 are Spanish) who cross the border every day and create an “area of shared prosperity” with the Gibraltar field.
As soon as the agreement is in force, border controls control They will be transferred to the port and the Peñón Airport and will be exercised by Spain by Europe. That is, the British will have to teach their passport to Spanish border guards when they are afraid of the airport.
The two parties claim that the agreement does not change in terms of sovereignty. From the start of the negotiation, Madrid and London They have agreed Let the dispute over the sovereignty aside From the rock to look for practical solutions.
“The future agreement protects the respective legal functions of Spain and the United Kingdom in the field of sovereignty and jurisdiction,” says the joint statement made public at the end of the meeting.
The Pact ended during a meeting in Brussels under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; His British counterpart, David Lammy; The most important minister of Gibraltar, Fabián Picardoand the European Commission responsible for relations with the United Kingdom, Maros Sefcovic.
“The parties have agreed to draw up double border controls in Gibraltar and Schengen in the port and the Gibraltar airport, which will be carried out by full cooperation between the EU authorities and the United Kingdom/Gibraltar,” says the statement that was made public at the end of the meeting.
The British Foreign Minister David Lammy, and the most important minister of Gibraltar, Fabián Picardo (in the center) this Wednesday before they travel to Brussels
With this: “All controls in the border crossing between Gibraltar and De Lijn for the many thousands of people who cross it daily in both directions,” continue with the text.
“In the side of the European Union, Spain will perform the entire Schengen checks. The entire Gibraltar checks will be carried out so far from the United Kingdom side, “says the joint explanation of Albares, Lammy, Picardo and Sefcovic.
In terms of goods, the Pact plans a “Customs Union“Between the EU and Gibraltar, with the elimination of merchandise checks. Moreover, the rock will gradually increase its indirect taxes, including tobacco, to prevent” distortions “with Spain.
From now on, negotiating teams must take out the full legal text of the Convention and complete internal procedures for signature and ratification. “The parties are convinced that this agreement will prefer prosperity and trust, legal certainty and stability will offer the lives and to make up for the population of the entire region,” concludes the joint statement.
The negotiations on Gibraltar, who have been in the dark for many months, were re -activated after the first bilateral top between the EU and the United Kingdom, held on 19 May in London. A meeting in which Ursula von der Leyen And Keir Starmer They agreed to reset relationships after divorce trauma.
To erase the road, the community leader Approved on Tuesday Remove Gibraltar from the blacklist from countries with “high risk” from capital washing and terrorist financing.
For his part, Lammy visited the rock just before traveling to Brussels, a clear indication that the agreement was imminent. The status of Gibraltar was the last paving problem of Brexit that they have just met.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, during an earlier meeting this Wednesday in Brussels
Spain And United Kingdom A political agreement for Save the Gibraltar -Poort As soon as the Brexit is completed. That pact would have That has translated into a new one Convention between the European Union and the United Kingdom on the PeñónNegotiated by the Ursula von der Commission, within a maximum period of six months.
However, the Convention is much more complex than expected and negotiations -which started in October 2021 and are some of the most opaque ones remembered in Brussels – They have extended more than 3 and a half years at the end.
A total of 18 technical rounds were held and a total of four meetings in Brussels to the highest political level. In the middle there was the victory of the work of Keir Starmer, who was responsible for the final agreement on Gibraltar.
