We had somewhat forgotten that the Rock of Gibraltar and its 34,000 inhabitants are also affected by Brexit. But if the agreement concluded on the evening of December 24 between London and Brussels applies to all European countries and the United Kingdom, it does not concern Gibraltar, British territory.
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Negotiations to preserve the free movement of goods and people between the Rock and Spain began in parallel with those for Brexit, as soon as the United Kingdom decided to leave Europe following the 2016 referendum.
“A historic dispute”
But why negotiate the terms of the break on the sidelines of Brexit rather than include them? ” Because this is a historic dispute, it must be negotiated bilaterally », We say from a Spanish source. This 6.2 km2 rocky enclave – once doubled as a military fortress -, located at the southern end of the peninsula, was ceded by Spain to the United Kingdom in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht, and Madrid always claims sovereignty.
At the time, the treaty prohibited trade between Gibraltar and the rest of the Iberian Peninsula. But very quickly a smuggling network developed on both sides of the border. Today Gibraltar is a free zone with a very low tax rate, while companies operate in the European Union.
The Rock joined the EU as “Associated territory”, it is not subject to the Common External Tariff, to the common agricultural policy, and does not apply value added tax. Gibraltar is regularly considered a tax haven by the Spanish government. Since the reopening of the border with Spain in 1985, tourism and commerce are important resources, especially casinos and online betting.
“We will seek an agreement until the last moment”Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya said on Tuesday (December 29th). For his part, the head of government of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, said “Optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement” whose deadline of December 31 was set by the British.
Economic interdependence
For the English, it is urgent. Because the small British enclave depends 100% on imports, especially from the United Kingdom, to feed its 34,000 inhabitants. But also for the Spaniards, because it must ensure the continuity of the passage, every day, of about 15,000 frontier workers coming from Spain to work there. They symbolize the economic interdependence between Gibraltar and the surrounding Spanish cities, which suffer from very high unemployment.
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Arancha González Laya warned that without Gibraltar’s own deal the UK would have a border there ” tough “ with the EU, with what this implies in terms of uncertainty, “Controls” and of “Difficulties” for the inhabitants. The absence of an agreement would mainly affect the logistics for importing certain goods and the modalities of entry into the enclave for tourists.
A register for frontier workers
For the moment, the only guarantee in the event of no agreement is that the free movement of the thousands of workers who cross the land border daily from Spain to earn their living in the prosperous British enclave will not be jeopardized. The Gibraltar government has in fact set up a register to allow these workers to register, so that they can continue to cross the border with a simple identity document.
As for the families of the inhabitants of Gibraltar who come to visit them via Spain, they can still easily enter the territory by presenting their papers at two gatehouses. The first houses a Spanish policeman, the second a Gibraltar agent. If no agreement is reached, however, passports will need to be stamped upon entry, explains a government source in Gibraltar, and “There would be queues that would last for hours and hours”.
Other questions remain to be resolved, such as maintaining Spanish social security for the British from Gibraltar living in Spain or the management of the airport, since the Rock will leave European airspace.
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