A last-minute draft deal between Spain and Gibraltar should ease any impact that Brexit could have had on the territory’s important yacht sector through a link with the Schengen area.
Under the draft deal, which will be completed as early as possible this year with a full treaty, Spain has extended its membership of the Schengen area to include Gibraltar, but the latter will not be a member of the Schengen scheme.
This means that the 15,000 Spanish workers which cross into the British territory every day to work will not have to experience a hard border with immigration checks. In addition, passengers arriving at Gibraltar’s marinas, port and airport will now have their passports checked by local officials as well as Frontex (the EU border agency) officials. This will allow yacht crew and passengers to enter Spain under the new Schengen link.
As a result of this draft deal, Gibraltar will be subject to the rules that apply to the borderless Schengen area. The Spanish Foreign Minister, Arancha González Laya, said: “After the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, today is the beginning of a new relationship.”
Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, commented: “The agreement was an opportunity to reset our relationship with Spain and cast it in a more positive light going forward. Gibraltar will not become a Schengen member, but will become a Spanish entry point to the wider Schengen zone.”
He added: “Spain is a member of Schengen and it is extending the opportunity to enter into the Schengen area if you enter one of the entry points in Gibraltar, and Gibraltar has two entry points: ports and marinas, and the airport. We’re going to avert the worst effects of a hard Brexit.”
He said of the draft deal: “There are no aspects of the framework that has been agreed that in any way transgress Gibraltar’s positions on sovereignty, jurisdiction or control.”
