The kiosks are already installed on the Spanish side of La Verja, because if on November 10 Gibraltar has not accepted the “generous and balanced” agreement proposed by Spainthe European Union will end, for all intents and purposes, at the border post that separates La Línea from the British colony. And the lines will return on both sides of the brand, almost like in the early 80s, when, First, only pedestrians with passports could cross, and already in 1985, motor vehicles.
The ball is in the court of the Gibraltarians, because London will never sign an agreement that Fabián Picardo does not acceptthe Chief Minister of the Rock. But both at the European Commission and at the Foreign Ministry in Madrid, there is optimism that the best possible arrangement has already been found.
Foreign sources specify that this will be the case anyway, because no one discussed the sovereignty of the Rockbut of an arrangement ad hoc to its particular situation, after the final execution of Brexit. The so-called New Year’s agreements In 2020, they succeeded in flattering the transition situation on the Rock, while waiting for London and Brussels to reach a definitive agreement… officially.
Although officially the day of agreement is announced as having been reached between the Commission and Her Majesty’s Government, the reality is that The negotiations were conducted between the governments of the United Kingdom and Spain..
London, acting as a representative of the interests of Gibraltarians. And Madrid, as legatee of the pact, which included a key clause: in all matters relating to Gibraltar following Britain’s departure from the EU, Spain is the one who has the last word.
But one thing is that The British colony is going to be, in any case, what it already is, the territory of a “third country”this is what community jargon calls everyone who is not a member of the EU. And another is that on the ground, citizens, goods and services will experience the situation completely this way or not.
On November 10, the transitional period for the application of Schengen entry and exit rules ends. And if there is no agreement, the kiosks already installed on the Spanish side will force any citizen of a third country to swipe your passport and register your biometric data when crossing the border.
The citizens of Gibraltar will, in this sense, foreigners in the EU. For individuals, this will mean, for example, that they will only be able to spend a period maximum 90 days out of 180 on European soil. For goods unloaded at the port or airport of La Roca, the consequences will be even more severe (permits, controls, delivery notes, registrations, etc.).
And for everyone, the queues at the border.
The other option is physical disappearance of La Verja. But this means that in the commercial customs of the British colony there are Spanish police and customs officers from our country, which would be the Schengen Representative on the territory.
What is the Gibraltar government’s reluctance? Who until now has betrayed his fellow citizens, the plainsthis matter like a problem of sovereignty.
Picardo doesn’t want Spanish police and customs officers on its ground. But if you want Gibraltar to be part of the Schengen area, you will have to accept that the personal and commercial customs at your port and airport who do the work of controlling entries and exits will be Schengen area officialsthat is to say from Spain.
And he remains a month to find a way to accept it, explain it and sign an agreement which has already been essentially drafted, as sources close to the latest negotiations reveal to this newspaper.
The last few months
Last May, the first meeting took place with four people: the European Commission, the Spanish government, the United Kingdom and the Chief Minister of Gibraltar. The pact was expected from this meetingbecause for Spain, it is
I put an aesthetic mission on this photo. But the agreement did not come to fruition, mainly because of this final obstacle from the leader of the colony.
This September 19, the second meeting was held with this same format. In Brussels, the commissioner met Maros SefkovicAlbares, Picardo and the new British Labor Foreign Secretary, David Lamy.
Since then, contacts at lower levels have taken no further action. Because essentially everything is done, which is why the head of Spanish diplomacy met this Wednesday with the mayors of Campo de Gibraltar and the Andalusian government advisors involved in the matter.
“We have been trading for many years and It is time for the United Kingdom to say “yes” to an agreement formulated “a long time ago” by Brussels and Madrid.. This is what Albares himself said after the meeting at the ministry headquarters, putting diplomatic pressure on London, but in reality on Picardo.
The minister emphasized that in a month, on November 10, the new border control system of the Schengen area will come into force. And that unless there is a deal by then, it will mainly affect Gibraltarians, given that It was signed that the rights of around 15,000 Spaniards are respected who cross the border every day to work at Le Rocher.
He Entry and exit system (SES) and the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) has nothing to do with whether there is an agreement or not. But the location of the controls, yes. And this obstacle delays the white smoke while pressure mounts on the Gibraltar side.
Picardo responded angrily and publiclya few hours later, to a particularly calm and smiling Albares. According to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, It is Spain that must stop insisting in which London and The Rock assume positions that they “cannot accept” and instead assume the “reasonable proposals” formulated by them.
