Holidaymakers, workers and businesses could face major disruption if no deal is agreed over Gibraltar’s border before the UK’s Brexit transition period with the EU ends.
The colony was not included in the Brexit trade deal announced on Christmas Eve to reorganise the commercial and trade relations between the EU and UK.
The deadline for Gibraltar remains January 1, when a transitionary period regulating the border between Gibraltar and Spain expires.
Spain succeeded in convincing the EU to separate the issue of Gibraltar from the greater Brexit negotiations. Foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said if an agreement is not reached, she fears that the long lines of stranded lorry drivers seen at the English Channel crossing, could be repeated.
Ms Gonzalez Laya told Spanish state broadcaster RTVE: “We do not have much time, and the scenes of chaos from the UK must remind us that we need to keep working to reach a deal on Gibraltar. Spaniards want one, the people of Gibraltar want one, now the UK needs to desire one as well. Political will is needed.”
Throughout the Brexit talks, Spain has insisted it wants a say on the future of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said the post-Brexit trade deal “is a huge relief given the potential difficulties that a no-deal Brexit might have created for the United Kingdom and the European Union”.
He added: “We continue to work, hand in glove with the United Kingdom, to finalise negotiation with Spain of agreement for a proposed treaty between the EU and the UK in relation to Gibraltar.”
The UK Government has said it is committed to finding a solution that includes “ensuring border fluidity, which is clearly in the best interests of the communities that live on both sides”.
