Gibraltar to remain within EU Schengen border zone, Spain says

Gibraltar’s border with Spain will remain open following the end of the Brexit transition period after the UK and Spain agreed a draft 11th-hour deal.

The British territory on the southern tip of the Spanish mainland will continue to be part of European Union programmes, such as the free-travel Schengen area.

Spain will be responsible for applying Schengen rules in Gibraltar, as the EU representative, Spain’s foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said.

Madrid and London had been negotiating how to police the land border between Spain and Gibraltar, which was excluded from the last-minute exit deal reached between Britain and the European Union last week.

Ms Gonzalez Laya said her government had worried that the only hard Brexit would be in Gibraltar, adding that people in the Rock “can breathe a sigh of relief”.

Fabian Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, said the deal had been reached “almost at the last minute” and the effects of a hard Brexit had been “averted”.

“The treaty to be negotiated will deal with maximised and unrestricted mobility of persons between Gibraltar and the Schengen area,” he was quoted as saying in a series of tweets from the government of Gibraltar.

“There are no aspects of the framework that has been agreed that in any away transgress Gibraltar position on sovereignty, jurisdiction or control. 

“And that is not just my opinion, it is also the opinion of all members of the Gibraltar cabinet.”

Boris Johnson welcomed the deal, adding: “The UK has always been, and will remain, totally committed to the protection of the interests of Gibraltar and its British sovereignty.”

Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister of Spain, said the deal will “allow us to remove barriers and move towards an area of shared prosperity”. 

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said the draft agreement would be sent to the European Commission to start negotiations on a formal treaty.

“All sides are committed to mitigating the effects of the end of the transition period on Gibraltar, and in particular ensure border fluidity, which is clearly in the best interests of the people living on both sides,” he said.