A deal allowing the free movement of people and goods between Gibraltar and Spain in the wake of Britain’s departure from the European Union is ‘very close’, the head of the British territory said on Thursday.
When the UK left the EU in 2020, Gibraltar’s future relationship with the bloc remained unresolved. The British overseas territory, strategically located at the entrance to the Mediterranean, has historically been an important military base for Britain.
Negotiations involving London, Madrid, Brussels and Gibraltar have been on-going, aiming to maintain seamless border movement. Although progress has been slow through multiple rounds of talks, officials have recently expressed growing optimism about reaching an agreement.
‘We are very close. I believe that we are about to reach the point of no return,’ Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said during a press briefing in Madrid.
‘My feeling is that we are almost there, that we are arriving. That we have found imaginative solutions to all the issues that we had left. And it’s a question of tying that up, and then being able to say, here we go.’
Speaking during an interview with Spanish national broadcaster RTVE (see link below), Picardo also said, ‘We have always been looking for a way to ensure that there is no problem, and that we can still have fluidity with the Schengen zone.’
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares echoed this sentiment on Monday, stating that negotiations were now focused on final operational details.
‘We are now simply dealing with very operational aspects that we need to align on, and I am sure we will reach an agreement, which is something Spain certainly wants,’ he said.
Gibraltar, a small territory on Spain’s southern coast, heavily relies on access to the EU market for its 34,000 residents. In the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum, an overwhelming 96% of Gibraltar’s voters favored remaining in the EU.
Control over Gibraltar has been a long-standing point of contention between Britain and Spain since it was ceded to Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.
With London and Brussels finalising the Northern Ireland protocol in 2023, Gibraltar remains the last British territory without a formal agreement defining its post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
#LaNoche24h | Fabian Picardo, Ministro principal de Gibraltar (@FabianPicardo), aborda la seguridad del espacio Schengen:
“Hemos buscando una manera de que no haya un problema, pero podamos seguir teniendo fluidez”#Canal24Horas
▶️https://t.co/2TW2mBj6fk pic.twitter.com/8QdW4pr1wT— La noche en 24 horas (@Lanoche_24h) February 20, 2025
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