Spain warns of hard border with Gibraltar unless UK accepts 'generous' post-Brexit deal with Spanish forces on Rock
10 October 2024, 11:10
Spain has warned of a hard border with Gibraltar unless the UK accepts a "generous" post-Brexit deal that would see Spanish troops stationed on the rock.
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Talks are ongoing between Spain and Britain about what to do with Gibraltar - a tiny enclave at the southern end of Spain that has been under British rule since the 18th century - before new EU border rules come in next month.
After Brexit, the two countries agreed in 2020 that Gibraltar would remain part of the Schengen passport-free European zone until a permanent solution could be found.
As part of the current proposed deal, the Spanish government has insisted that it be allowed to station its security forces at the Gibraltar airport and port.
Gibraltar has said this would be unacceptable. Fabian Picardo, the Rock's chief minister, said he would not allow “Spanish boots on the ground”.
Read more: Keir Starmer insists the Falkland Islands 'will remain British' despite Chagos handover
Without free movement, British citizens living in Gibraltar would only be able to spend 90 days in Spain every 180 days.
Spain's foreign minister said that although the new EU digital border system was unrelated to the Gibraltar agreement, it would still affect thousands of people on both sides of the border.
The new rules, which come into force on November 10, mean that non-EU citizens arriving in the Schengen area will have to give fingerprints, have their face scanned and answer questions about their stay.
Travellers' passports will no longer be stamped manually, and the fingerprints and face scans will be registered instead.
Spain's foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares said it was up to the British government to choose whether it wants to restrict movement for Gibraltarians or to accept "the generous and balanced deal on offer."
Sovereignty of Falkland Islands and Gibraltar not up for negotiation, says Starmer
Gibraltar has a population of around 34,000 in an area of 2.6 square miles. It was ceded to Britain in 1713 by Spain in a treaty following a war.
Spain wants control of Gibraltar. It views the Rock as a British colony, which is unacceptable under international law. It says it is supported by the United Nations in this aim.
The territory has close economic and cultural links with Spain, so a hard border would likely have an impact on the local economy.
But Gibraltar residents have rejected Spanish sovereignty in two separate referendums, in 1967 and 2002.
Questions of its sovereignty have been raised again in recent days, after the British government agreed to cede control of the Chagos Islands territory to Mauritius.
Keir Starmer told MPs that British sovereignty over Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, another overseas territory, was not up for debate.
In Prime Minister's Questions, the Prime Minister said: "My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands, they are British, and they will remain British.
"And sovereignty in Gibraltar is equally not to be negotiated.
"Of course we will do everything we can to make it easier for all businesses to trade more freely so that we can grow our economy."
