International Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya says facility to stay even when no settlement is reached with the UK.
Cross-border staff who commute between Gibraltar and Spain might be exempt from border controls after Brexit even when no settlement on free motion is reached with the UK, Spanish International Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya stated on Monday.
Madrid and London are negotiating tips on how to police the land border between Spain and Gibraltar, a British Abroad Territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, as it’s excluded from the last-minute exit deal reached between the UK and the European Union final week.
“Our greatest precedence is to stop the Gibraltar border from turning into a tough border,” Gonzalez Laya instructed a information convention.
Nevertheless, even and not using a deal, there might be provisions in place for individuals who work on one aspect of the border and dwell on the opposite.
“Cross-border staff who’ve registered their standing earlier than 1 January 2021 … will be capable to cross by figuring out themselves with a doc ready for this objective,” she stated.
Different travellers might want to have their passport stamped.
Greater than 15,000 folks dwell in Spain and work in Gibraltar, making up about 50 % of Gibraltar’s labour drive.
The territory’s inhabitants of about 34,000 was overwhelmingly in opposition to Britain leaving the EU.
Within the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96 % of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining within the continental bloc that they really feel offers them extra leverage to take care of the federal government in Madrid.
The port additionally welcomes about 10 million vacationers per 12 months, a sector accounting for a few quarter of its economic system.
Spain will proceed to say its declare to sovereignty over the territory, ceded to the UK in 1713 after its seize through the Conflict of the Spanish Succession, whatever the end result of the negotiations, Gonzalez Laya stated.