Brexit: what will happen to Gibraltar now?

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Such images threaten in Gibraltar in a no-deal between Spain and Great Britain

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JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Gibraltar missed out on the Brexit agreement between Great Britain and the European Union: So far there are no regulations for the British overseas territory and its relations with Spain.

After all: In the future too, workers should be allowed to commute between Gibraltar and Spain.

That emerges from a press conference with the Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzáles Laya.

There Gonzáles Laya said it was the priority of the Spanish government that there would be no hard border with Gibralter.

But even if the two negotiating parties did not agree on a deal, there would be separate provisions for commuters.

For this, the employees would have to register by January 1, 2021, said Gonzáles Laya.

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Arancha González Laya at a press conference in Madrid - she advocates a quick agreement on Gibraltar

Photo: EMILIO NARANJO / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

Madrid and London are still negotiating how the land border between Spain and the British overseas territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula will be regulated.

Gibraltar was not part of the deal between London and Brussels.

If the parties fail to reach an agreement by Friday, travelers would have to show a stamped passport.

Gibraltar wants agreements based on the model of the Schengen area

Gonzáles Laya warned that scenes similar to those of the long truck traffic jams in southern England could occur after France closed the borders at short notice due to the corona virus.

"We don't have much time, and the chaotic scenes from Britain have to remind us that we have to keep working on an agreement for Gibraltar," she said.

"The clock is still ticking for us," said the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo.

He told the radio station Cadena SER that "an agreement based on the model of the Schengen area would be the most positive result" in order to facilitate the millions of border crossings.

With the Schengen Agreement, two dozen nations have abolished general travel controls.

Local controls were reintroduced in the corona crisis.

Great Britain is not part of the Schengen area.

Around 15,000 people commute between Spain and Gibraltar every day.

Around ten million tourists also come to the country via the port;

the tourism sector accounts for a quarter of the economic output of the 32,000-inhabitant country.

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hba / Reuters / AP