‘Historic milestone’: EU and UK strike political deal on Gibraltar
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
European Union, UK reach agreement to ease cross-border trade and travel in Gibraltar – Telegraph India
Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Talks on a deal to ensure people and goods can keep flowing over the Gibraltar-Spain border previously had made only halting progress. Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. The tiny territory on Spain’s southern tip depends greatly on access to the EU market for its 34,000 inhabitants. The British government said the agreement “resolves the last major unresolved issue from Brexit,” while Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares said the deal was historic and marked “a new beginning” in relationship between the UK and Spain. The deal must be ratified by parliaments in Spain and the UK, the EU said in a statement.
In a post on social media, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefcovic raised the deal as “a truly historic milestone: an EU-UK political agreement on the future relationship concerning Gibraltar. This benefits everyone and reinforces a new chapter in the relationship.”
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Britain left the European Union in 2020 with the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc unresolved. Talks on a deal to ensure people and goods can keep flowing over the Gibraltar-Spain border previously had made only halting progress.
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Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations concerning the Rock, as it is popularly referred to in English, have had their ups and downs over the centuries.
In Britain’s 2016 Brexit referendum, 96 per cent of voters in Gibraltar supported remaining in the EU. The tiny territory on Spain’s southern tip depends greatly on access to the EU market for its 34,000 inhabitants.
The British government said the agreement “resolves the last major unresolved issue from Brexit,” while Spanish Foreign Minister José Albares said the deal was historic and marked “a new beginning” in the relationship between the UK and Spain.
He said that Spain “will guarantee free movement of people and goods,” adding that Gibraltar would now be linked to Europe’s free travel zone known as the Schengen Area with Spanish authorities controlling entry and exit.
The deal, which must be ratified by parliaments in Spain and the UK, will remove all physical barriers, checks and controls on people and goods moving between Spain and Gibraltar, the EU said in a statement.
In order to preserve The EU’s free travel zone and borderless single market for goods, entry and exit checks will instead be conducted at Gibraltar’s airport and port by both U.K. and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to that in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris, where both British and French officialos check passports.
The UK and Gibraltar had previously resisted Spain’s insistence that Spanish border officials be based at the airport, which is also home to a Royal Air Force base.
An agreement was also reached Wednesday for visas and travel permits.
The UK said that half of Gibraltar’s population crosses the border each day and that without an agreement, new EU entry-exit rules mean every one would have to have their passports checked.
The British government hailed the deal as a win in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempt to reset relations with the EU, five years after the UK’s acrimonious departure from the bloc.
The UK said the agreement “does not impact sovereignty” and ensures “full operational autonomy of the UK’s military facilities in Gibraltar.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez noted that Spain maintains its claim of sovereignty over Gibraltar.
“After three centuries of no progress, the EU, the United Kingdom, and Spain have reached a comprehensive agreement that benefits citizens and our bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom. All this without renouncing Spanish claims to the isthmus and the return of Gibraltar,” he said on the social network X.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also hailed the agreement and said it “will bring legal certainty to the people of Gibraltar, its businesses and to those across the region who rely on stability at the frontier.”
Brexit pushes Gibraltar into EU customs union and Schengen area
Gibraltar will join the EU’s Schengen passport-free area for the first time. 15,000 people commute across its borders daily. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič described the agreement as a “truly historic milestone”
The British Overseas Territory will effectively join the EU’s Schengen passport-free area for the first time — meaning smoother crossings for the 15,000 people who commute across its borders daily, News.Az reports citing Politico.
Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič described the agreement as a “truly historic milestone” that would remove “all physical barriers, checks and controls on people and goods” crossing the border while bringing legal certainty.
Gibraltar’s government has sought such a deal for years — complaining that border crossings have become more onerous since Brexit, to the detriment of people living and working in the territory.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the agreement meant that “the last wall on continental Europe” would disappear and free movement of people would reign.
News.Az
‘Holy Grail of shipwrecks’: Discovery of 18th century Spanish galleon sparks £16 billion legal fight
The San José was carrying gold, silver and emeralds at the height of the War of the Spanish Succession. It was intercepted by a British squadron led by Sir Charles Wager, who later became First Lord of the Admiralty. During the fierce battle, the San José’s powder magazines detonated, sending it, its valuable cargo and nearly 600 sailors 2,000 ft beneath the Caribbean Ocean. It is understood to have been identified through underwater images and recovered from a site near Baru Island, off Cartagena, Colombia, a decade ago.
The San José — which is laden with gold, silver and emeralds — is estimated to be worth around £16 billion.
It is understood to have been identified through underwater images and recovered from a site near Baru Island, off Cartagena, Colombia, a decade ago.
The findings, which was published in the scientific journal Antiquity on Tuesday, provides the strongest evidence yet that the wreckage discovered is indeed the 18th century vessel.
The San José was transporting treasure from Portobelo in Panama at the height of the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Colombian army revealed unprecedented images of the wreck (Colombian Presidency/AFP via Get)
But it was intercepted by a British squadron led by Sir Charles Wager, who later became First Lord of the Admiralty.
During the fierce battle, the San José’s powder magazines detonated, sending it, its valuable cargo and nearly 600 sailors 2,000 ft beneath the Caribbean Ocean.
The War of the Spanish Succession concluded with the British Empire taking control of Gibraltar, as well as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in Canada.
The San José’ was presumed lost forever until 2015 when South American researchers used underwater drones to capture images of the wreckage on the seabed.
Artifacts found in the wreckage (via REUTERS)
Photographs show silver coins minted in 1707, as well as Chinese porcelain from the Kangxi period, which experts believe point to the San José.
“This body of evidence substantiates the identification of the wreck as the San José Galleon, a hypothesis that has been put forward since its initial discovery in 2015,” said Daniela Vargas Ariza, of Colombia’s Naval Cadet School and the National Institute of Anthropology and History.
However, the discovery has sparked a heated dispute over who should claim the treasure.
Colombia, Spain and Peru, as well as indigenous communities and descendants of Peruvian miners, are all vying for ownership.
American treasure hunters Sea Search Armada is demanding nearly £8 billion, claiming it discovered the wreck in 1981 and that the current find is within “a mile or two” of its original coordinates.
In 2023, Colombian president Gustavo Petro announced that the wreck would be raised before his term ends in 2026.
EU, Britain strike deal on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status
Deal will ease flow of people and goods over the Gibraltar-Spain border. It is part of London’s much-vaunted “reset” in ties with Brussels. Gibraltar is historically an important military base for Britain due to its position at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. Britain and Spain have disputed control of the tiny territory since it was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The agreement “protects British sovereignty, supports Gibraltar’s economy and allows businesses to plan for the long-term once again,” says UK Foreign Minister David Lammy.. People arriving in the territory by air or sea would undergo dual border checks at Gibraltar port and airport, to be carried out by Gibraltar and Spanish.
The European Union and Britain on Wednesday, June 11, sealed a “historic” deal on the status of the territory of Gibraltar, five years after Brexit. The deal will ease the flow of people and goods over the Gibraltar-Spain border, forming part of London’s much-vaunted “reset” in ties with Brussels.
When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar – historically an important military base for Britain due to its position at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea – and the bloc remained unresolved. Talks between London, Madrid, Brussels and Gibraltar on a deal had made halting progress during several rounds of negotiations under Britain’s previous Conservative government, but the arrival of Labour last summer gave new impetus.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said it was “a truly historic milestone for the European Union, including Spain, as well as for the United Kingdom and Gibraltar.”
“This agreement benefits everyone and will bring legal certainty and confidence to the people and businesses across the region,” he said during a news conference in Brussels. He added that he was “absolutely convinced” it would be ratified by the parties because “it’s a good agreement.”
In a statement, the four parties said the agreement would create a fluid border between Gibraltar and Spain, with no physical barriers or checks between the territory and the border town of La Linea. People arriving in the territory by air or sea would undergo dual border checks at Gibraltar port and airport, to be carried out by Gibraltar and Spanish officials.
“Spanish officials will be responsible for ensuring the integrity of the Schengen Area,” said a UK statement, which likened the arrangement to the system at London’s St Pancras station, where French police carry out border checks for passengers bound for the EU.
“Immigration and law and order in Gibraltar will remain the exclusive responsibility of Gibraltar’s authorities,” said the statement from Britain’s Foreign Office.
‘Delighted’ Gibraltar
“Today’s breakthrough delivers a practical solution after years of uncertainty,” British Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement. The agreement “protects British sovereignty, supports Gibraltar’s economy and allows businesses to plan for the long-term once again,” he added.
Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo said he was “delighted” about the agreement that will bring “legal certainty to the people of Gibraltar, its businesses and to those across the region who rely on stability at the frontier.”
The deal, he said, “will protect future generations of British Gibraltarians and does not in any way affect our British sovereignty.”
Around 15,000 people – over half of Gibraltar’s workforce, according to London – cross the land border between Spain and Gibraltar every day. Britain and Spain have disputed control of the tiny territory since it was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.
UK and Spain agree post-Brexit deal for ‘fluid border’ at Gibraltar
Deal means checks will no longer be required on people crossing between the two. It clears the way to finalise a post-Brexit deal on the territory with the EU. There will be dual border control checks for arrivals by air at Gibraltar airport. Chief minister Fabian Picardo called the deal a “historic agreement”
The deal means checks will no longer be required on people crossing between the two.
It clears the way to finalise a post-Brexit deal on the territory with the EU.
There will be dual border control checks for arrivals by air at Gibraltar airport, carried out by Gibraltar and Spanish officials.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the Government has “secured a practical solution which safeguards sovereignty, jobs and growth”.
In a message on X, the Foreign Secretary said: “Gibraltar’s economy and way of life was under threat.
“Today we have secured a practical solution which safeguards sovereignty, jobs and growth.
“Working in lockstep with Fabian Picardo we have ensured Gibraltar’s interests – as part of the UK family – are at the heart of this agreement.”
Gibraltarian chief minister Fabian Picardo called the deal a “historic agreement”.
In a message on X, Mr Picardo said: “An agreement for the future relationship between the EU and the UK in relation to Gibraltar is now a reality. It is a historic agreement.”
President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the deal.
She said: “It safeguards the integrity of Schengen and the Single Market, while ensuring stability, legal certainty and prosperity for the region.”
Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020.