By Gavin Lee
BBC Europe correspondent, Gibraltar
The Spanish workers of La Línea de la Concepción are ready to celebrate the removal of the border control in Gibraltar. And they have reason to.
This small coastal town bordering Gibraltar is one of the poorest in Spain. A third of the people here are unemployed and in some neighborhoods it rises to 80%. Drug trafficking from Morocco and armed gangs became a problem for the police.
Fifteen thousand inhabitants have jobs in Gibraltar, where wages are on average 20% higher. And Gibraltar needs them for the lifeblood of its economy, especially in the nursing, catering and cleaning industries.
What will change
As part of the UK’s exit from the EU, the UK and Spain have agreed in principle that the land border may go within six months, but the terms of the agreement must first be made in a formal treaty with the EU:
- The single road connecting the area will be widened to allow people and cars to travel freely
- Some infrastructure will remain at the border, some guards will remain on standby and finalities have yet to be worked out, such as assessing the need for certain customs controls from the border and if so, how it will work
- To cross the border, Gibraltar will effectively become part of Europe’s passport – free travel area – the Schengen zone – although there is a different language use on both sides whether it is ‘part of’ or ‘linked’ to Schengen
- Once the border is crossed, new arrivals will only be checked if they enter the port by sea and by air
- For the first time, as well as the border guards of Gibraltar, there are guards from the EU border and the Coast Guard Agency, known as Frontex, who are also checking passports.
Gibraltar gets British and Spain agreement to keep open border
‘Work is much more important than the color of the flag’
Gib, as it is known, has been providing work to Melissa resident Melissa for 20 years. She is a teaching assistant and I meet her as she commutes through the two border posts in the morning, first through the Spanish checkpoint and then immediately on the side of Gibraltar where she will show her work permit to the guards.
“This is good news for us. In the future, it will be easier for people to simply cross over. [trying] to get a job. For my son, for example, who has no job, “she says. Working for me here is far more important than the color of the flag. ”
Juan José Uceda of the La Línea Workers Association was celebrating with a 1940s bottle of Rioja when he heard about the agreement.
“We think of the change it can make psychologically for everyone here and that we have no boundaries to hinder us. We are a city born of the needs of Gibraltar, and we have been suffering the ropes for so many years, the delays at the border and also the political issues behind them. ‘
Read more about Gavin: Brexit presents Spain’s Costa Brits with dilemmas
Spain, which disputes British sovereignty over the Rock, is often accused of deliberately stopping traffic by delaying checks at the border to cause long delays, especially in times of tension between the two sides.
“There are workers who have been waiting at the border for five or six hours without moving, and then they have to wait again at the same time,” complains Juan José.
It affects families on both sides. Especially from the children who go to school on the other side of the border.
“You could see the kids eating their breakfast in the cars and waiting. And there are no toilets here. Nothing.’
‘Like the St Pancras station on the Eurostar’
The Prime Minister of Gibraltar, Fabien Picardo, describes the agreement as the creation of “a common travel area between Gibraltar and the rest of Schengen”.
‘It’s a bit like the checkpoints you would see at St Pancras station if you were going on the Eurostar. You would first go through UK passport control. And then a few steps later through the French passport. control. This is exactly the set-up of what our proposal should be if the European Commission agrees, and we elevate our prior agreement to a treaty. ‘
Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya recently said that Spain would have to have the “last say” over airport and port border arrangements, as Spain is the Schengen member state that could bring the agreement to fruition.
This has led to criticism that the move could weaken British sovereignty over the area, but Mr. Picardo says that if the plan goes ahead, the decision on who will enter Gibraltar will only be taken by a Gibraltar guard, so that British overseas territory “will have priority”.
“So if we say ‘No’, you have to turn your tail and go. Then you do not enter through Gibraltar.
“There is absolutely no way anyone can propose the agreement we have reached or that we will be part of a treaty that will dilute British sovereignty in any way.”
Spain: ‘I would call it’ co-responsibility ‘
The Spanish Minister for Europe, Juan González-Barba Pera, told the BBC that Spanish claims about the Rock had not yet receded, but that the agreement was not about territorial claims.
“In 2002, [Gibraltar] held a referendum and they rejected the idea of co-sovereignty. Instead of co-sovereignty, I would call it ‘co-responsibility’ because by this agreement the United Kingdom allows Gibraltar to participate in certain policies of the European Union in which the United Kingdom does not participate. ‘
The Spanish government will in principle set out the details of the agreement in parliament next week.
There was little chance for Spanish politicians to process the details of the agreement, as the agreement was hastened in principle on New Year’s Eve, a few hours before the United Kingdom would leave the EU.
“There are some people in Spain who are not happy about this agreement because they see it as a lost opportunity to advance our claims,” the Spanish minister said. He also accepts some in the UK and Gibraltar will be unhappy with the deal.
Risks of a return to old tension
Despite the issues over who has the final say on the agreement, Gibraltar seems to have a better relationship with the Spanish socialist coalition government than with the previous governments in Madrid.
When the Conservative Popular Party was in power, the foreign minister claimed that the Spanish flag would fly on top of the Rock after Brexit.
For Gibraltarians, there are still painful memories of tensions in the past. In addition to closing the border, they endured a 13-year blockade imposed in 1969 by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.
The EU has been credited with helping alleviate periodic problems between the territories. As the UK is no longer a member and Spain has more responsibility in the ports, some residents are worried that it could be a springboard to Spanish rule.
The retired couple Angela Alessio and Harry Brown, who were born on the Rock, are suspicious of Spanish motives.
‘I think if I’m not here anymore, this place will be part of Spain in the future. After all, we are in the south of Spain. ‘ Sê Angela.
Harry disagrees: “I trust the prime minister, but we have to be careful. One thing is that European border guards have to check passports, but I certainly do not want the Spanish Civil Guard to do this on their own.”
“Spain has always wanted to take over Gibraltar,” said former British military officer Axle. He was a foreman in Gibraltar and moved to La Línea to live with his Spanish wife.
Gibraltar, British and Spanish officials all maintain that the border agreement is an experiment that will be re-evaluated four years after the border is removed.
They acknowledge that it is not without risks. The hope, however, is that trust between these historically turbulent neighbors along the border can disappear.
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