The line
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Spain and the Kingdom reached a preliminary agreement on Gibraltar after Brexit on December 31 that must now become a binding treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) to create a shared prosperity zone on both sides of the Gate, which would mean that the Rock would be within the Schenguen space. The deadline to achieve this expires in July.
Gibraltar has not been part of the EU since 1 January but, for now, few things have changed in the British colony thanks to the six-month transition period allowed by the aforementioned preliminary agreement. Gibraltarians, who rejected an overwhelming 96 per cent to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, are living the early months of the post-Brexit era, although very pending of the negotiations that are being held and that will decide its future.
They are very clear about it, they are Gibraltarians, they defend their idiosyncrasy, and a large part aspire to their self-determination, although they also defend their British DNA and under no circumstances do they want to be Spanish. They don’t even want to hear about co-sovereignty.
Gibraltar, with just over 33,000 inhabitants, is the third income per capita in the world. There is no unemployment and the standard of living is very high. More than 14,000 cross-border workers work on the Rock, of which more than 9,000 are Spanish.
On the other side of Customs is The Line of the Conception, one of the eight municipalities of Campo de Gibraltar and the one most affected by the Gibraltar easement. It would also be the hardest hit in case of a ‘divorce’ to the bravace. The unemployment rates on this side of the Gate are among the highest in the country, to which must be added the scourges of drug trafficking and smuggling.
The Government of Spain hopes that the new scenario that Brexit opens up will create an area of shared prosperity on both sides of the Gate. «With this principle of agreement The Gate is demolished with Spain as responsible for the control of Schengen». These were the words of González Laya on New Year’s Eve, an advertisement with which Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar breathed somewhat calmer.
The minister explained that the objective is that the current Customs be replaced by Schengen controls at the port and airport of Gibraltar. However, the main stumbling block is who will assume those controls. In principle, the idea is that during the implementation period of the treaty, which will last four years, they are agents of Frontex. In Gibraltar they reject that they can be members of the Spanish Security Forces and Bodies.
However, not all is said. The best proof that the deal is still not closed is that the Government of Spain continues with the Customs reform works of La Línea de la Concepción that began only a few months ago and in which it will invest 5.4 million euros. An average of 30,000 people and 10,000 vehicles cross through this place every day, at least before the pandemic. At the moment, to enter Gibraltar, only EU citizens are required to have their DNI.
The project includes an item of 2,128,107 euros for the supply of automatic border control systems and the delivery of source codes, with a new automatic ABC.0001 system. –the equipment that they installed only a few years ago has been destroyed with the renovations– one for passenger control, biometric comparison servers and biometric recognition systems for pedestrians and vehicle occupants.
The most noticeable change after Brexit, so far, was the one-off shortages of certain food products from the United Kingdom in the shops of the Rock, something that occurred in the first weeks of January. The United Kingdom is now a third country for the EU, so the entry of certain products into Community territory, including Spain, and their subsequent exit from the Union is already subject to new customs controls and entails inspections. Many British animal products in transit through the EU arrive to the port of Gibraltar by ferries from Algeciras after passing through the Border Inspection Post.
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