Spain imposes surprise border controls on border with Gibraltar, triggering huge queues

Spain imposed a surprise border control at the Gibraltar border on Friday morning, prompting long queues at the border.

Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) that he received notification last night about the border changes, which saw passport checks suspended during Brexit negotiations over the Rock.

He added that he had “no alternative” but to “impose reciprocal agreements” on entry into Gibraltar if border controls were not lifted by the Spanish government by 7 am.

The Gibraltar government said that at around 7.30am a “huge queue” had built up at the border “as a result of the measures being implemented by Spain”.

Border controls were then lifted before being reversed later that morning, the Gibraltar government added, before both sides halted controls at around 11:30am.

Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) that he received notification last night of the border changes

He added that he had “no alternative” but to “impose reciprocal agreements” on entry into Gibraltar if border controls were not lifted by the Spanish government by 7am.

A statement from the Gibraltar government said that a Spanish police inspector who was “not authorized to give this instruction by his superior” issued the order for Gibraltarians to have their passports stamped to cross into Spain.

Mr. Picardo stated: “Given the sporadic nature of the way in which Spain, whether through direct instructions or at the whim of Spanish police officers, has decided that it can lift provisional measures at any time, it is best for those who need to cross the border to Gibraltar to always have their passports with them, in case we are forced to demand them, as we were today.

“If the benefits currently granted to Gibraltarians are annulled, Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar will immediately reciprocate and I know that all Spanish workers and all visitors will understand that we must act on this reciprocal basis.

“It’s the last thing we want to do and, as a socialist, it really depresses me that, as always, politics is being used to harm the interests of workers and not to help them.”

This comes after the new Labor government announced last week that it planned to return the disputed Chagos Islands to Mauritius after years of negotiations.

Speaking in Andalusia, a region in southern Spain that borders Gibraltar, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told journalists that the European Union's new digital border system will affect thousands of people on both sides of the border. .

He said the new controls would mean that third-country nationals – such as Britons living in Gibraltar – would only be allowed to spend 90 days in Spain every 180 days unless a new agreement was reached.

The EU confirmed yesterday that the so-called Entry/Exit System (EES), originally scheduled to be implemented on 10 November, was put on hold because the bloc's main members – namely France, Germany and the Netherlands – were not prepared to implement it. it.

Since December 2020, a post-Brexit agreement between the UK, Spain and the EU has allowed citizens of Gibraltar to remain part of the border-free Schengen area, among other EU agreements

Pedestrians and drivers cross the Spanish border with Gibraltar, in front of the Rock of Gibralta

The EES aims to do away with passport checks and stamps, replacing the current system with a series of biometric tests that would require non-EU passport holders, including Brits, to present fingerprints and facial scans at their first point of entry. entry into the Schengen Zone.

Since December 2020, a post-Brexit agreement between the UK, Spain and the EU has allowed citizens of Gibraltar to remain part of the border-free Schengen area, among other EU agreements.

As a result of this agreement, Spanish border guards allowed residents of Gibraltar to enter and leave Spain without stamping their passports or using the 90-day travel limit.

In return, more than 15,000 workers from Spain – representing more than half of the Rock's working population – were allowed to enter Gibraltar with ease.

Last year, Madrid and London came close to reaching an agreement, but were unable to agree on the joint use of policing at Gibraltar Airport, which saw 473,803 passengers pass through the airport last year.

Many of these passengers then travel to nearby Spanish resorts such as Malaga and Marbella, which are popular with British tourists.

Albares said: “The time has come for the UK to say yes to a balanced and generous deal that we put on the table a long time ago.

“It is the UK that now has to choose whether it wants a system of movement restrictions for the people of Gibraltar or the generous and balanced deal on offer.”

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares (pictured) told reporters that the European Union's new digital border system will affect thousands of people on both sides of the border

Sir Keir told MPs at PMQs in Wednedsau that his government was committed to the Falklands and Gibraltar after an agreement was reached to return the Chagos Islands.

However, the Gibraltar government rejected any plans for Spanish police to enter the territory.

Fabian Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, declared that he would not accept 'Spanish boots on the ground', the Daily Telegraph reported.

His government has already threatened to retaliate with its own border controls if an agreement cannot be reached between both parties. This could potentially lead to delays at the border.

The disputed territory has been a thorn in the side of Anglo-Spanish relations for centuries, since Gibraltar was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1713.

The growing pressure from Madrid comes after Labor agreed to hand over to Mauritius what are the Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Sir Keir defended the deal as necessary to guarantee the rights of the UK and US to continue to operate a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.