Spain & UK reach deal to "remove" Gibraltar border
Sunday, January 3, 2021 @ 10:31 PM
Spain and the UK have today reached a deal to maintain free movement to and from Gibraltar once the UK formally leaves the EU on Friday.
To avoid a hard border after Brexit, they have agreed that Gibraltar will join the EU's Schengen zone and follow certain EU rules, whilst remaining part of the UK. The plan is to have a six-month transition period and then formalise the new arrangements with a treaty.
The deal was announced by Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya, just hours before the UK leaves the EU. "With this [agreement], the border is removed, Schengen is applied to Gibraltar... it allows for the lifting of controls between Gibraltar and Spain," said Ms González Laya.
Under the terms of the Gibraltar deal, the EU will have to send Frontex border guards to ensure free movement to and from Gibraltar for at least the next four years. The deal also means Gibraltar complying with EU fair competition rules in areas such as financial policy, the environment and the labour market, Ms González Laya said.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com