Goodbye to the ‘gate’ and much more. Gibraltar It opens to a new time after the signature of. It has cost, but five years of limbo post-Brexit Then, the smoked blank It has reached the southern end of continental Europe, at least “initially.”
Because, as the journalist and expert in the area Luis Romero a El HuffPost, toca become “legal reality” what today is only one “Declaration of generalities “political, As the also calls it collaborator of the University of Cádiz
For him specialized journalist in Gibraltar And professor in the field of law and international relations points out that in the face of the future definitive agreement “they will have to sign the United Kingdom and the European Union … No one else, neither Spain nor Gibraltar“, As much as the last two” have participated “in the negotiations. The European Commission itself is confident that the agreement will be” rapidly ratified “after being the” clear “path between Brussels and London. For now, the first calculations leave until January 2026. Not so quickly, go …
The photos, the headlines and celebrations of the parties involved are official, but they have to delve into the Detainers of a pact what It reaches Spain And, specifically, thousands of workers and inhabitants of the area that enter and leave daily from this territory under British sovereignty and historical claims for sovereignty that “do not change anything” with the new multipartite agreement.
What will happen to the gate and the border …
With the end of the gate – for José Manuel Albares “the last wall of continental Europe” – They will disappear also the physical barriers and the controls to people and goods that pass from Spain to Gibraltar and vice versa.
Before the announcement that the parties “have found the formula to remove the gate,” Luis Romero adds that it only remains to know what it is, “because it is another of the details that have not been defined today.” At the moment it is known that it will disappear, more than a century after the British install it, perhaps the most striking fact of all.
… And the European? What happens now with Schengen
The known as ‘Schengen Space’, which serves as an outer border for the EU and the associated countries will also apply with Gibraltar, Despite not belonging to this agreement. In fact, the note signed by the three international actors states that the Schengen space is at the same time, the EU Single Market and the Customs Union. ”
On the latter, the signatories add that the intention is establish the future a Customs Union between the EU and Gibraltarto allow the free circulation of all types of goods.
To guarantee all this, a series of controls will be applied to the citizens of third countries not included in the ‘Schengen’ agreement. The Spanish security forces and bodies will Keys In this issue, because the Passport control at the airport and portthe calls’exterior borders‘, since the interiors will disappear.
The key lies in what the British call “double control”, based on the check of access also by the British police. The expert consulted by El HuffPost shows their doubts because “that ‘double control ‘is a certain vagueness; It all depends on who does the last control. “For explaining it more simply, Romero clarifies that” if you let someone at the beginning but at a few meters another agent tells you no, you don’t pass. “
Again, he regrets the “lack of concretion” of the text announced to hype and saucer on Wednesday, remembering that “the Gibraltar Police cannot access Schengen Because the United Kingdom is not part of that space, so An authority is required like Spanish“.
What happens now with the workers in the area
Since the United Kingdom he voted mostly for separating himself from the European Union, thousands and thousands of citizens of the line and surroundings have had to rethink the future. With this Wednesday’s agreement, his situation changes and the first samples of joy have already arrived, although there is no variation as radical as it could be thought, Romero adds.
The lifting of the ‘Spain-Gibraltar border yes will facilitate access to workers, tourists and curious On the other side of the gate. However, the expert does not see so much change since “There are usually no queuesthey only occur extraordinary. ”
“We must bear in mind that dozens of thousands of people come to Gibraltar, so The controls are usually very laxa DNI, a random control and now; If it would not be impossible to go person per person, “he continues.
The big change comes, once it is legally definitive, to avoid what the Schengen regulations updatea new system based on Biometric data for accesses to the controlled territory, that “I would have shot the waiting times.” “Seen this, I believe that the final text will be before the ‘new’ model.”
Is the risk of smuggling multiply due to opening?
NoRaudo Luis Romero replies. “The physical border disappears with Spain as it did between Portugal and Spain or between France and Spain and there the crime between territories has not grown these years,” he adds.
For the journalist “Gibraltar what he is looking for, so to speak is Belong to Schengen without really belonging to Schengen“, something that is reflected in the multipartite declaration. It affirms that” an agreement has been reached on the principles of indirect imposition that will be applied in Gibraltar, including tobacco that will avoid distortions and contribute to the prosperity of the entire region. “
Translated, that Gibraltar will have to progressively raise your taxes in tobacco and other goods to ‘match’ the market with the aspire to have a direct relationship. For José Manuel Albares, being “connected” with the customs union implies for Gibraltar a “fiscal convergence with the rest of the EU”. “What is sought is that there is fair competition for all,” Foreign Minister has finished off.
An increase that consumers of the area already warn, among which the feeling that If prices upload goes to Descend commercial activity Within the strange economic environment that was still the rock.
Is there any change on sovereignty claims?
That is the easiest question to answer today. No.
“In fact, the statement states that it is’ without prejudice to the official positions’ of each state,” so that nothing should change, “says Luis Romero about a text that ‘safeguard the respective legal positions of Spain and the United Kingdom in terms of sovereignty and jurisdiction‘.
