By Martin Banks

The European Commission and the United Kingdom have signed the EU-UK Agreement in respect of Gibraltar.

This Agreement is the result of more than four years of negotiations and completes the legal framework of the relations between the EU and the UK following Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

It will enter into provisional application on Wednesday (15 July).

Gibraltar is not included in the scope of the  EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement signed in 2020 and in force since 2021.

The main objective of this Agreement is to secure the future prosperity of the whole region, said the EU in a statement.

“It will bring confidence and legal certainty to the lives and well-being of the people of the whole region.

“It will promote shared prosperity and closer and more constructive relations between the Gibraltar and Spanish authorities, while fully safeguarding Schengen, the EU’s Single Market and its Customs Union,” adds the EU.

The approval of the EU parliament is still needed but this is seen as a formality.

Comment came from Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.

He said, “Today marks a truly historic moment. I am proud to sign this Agreement with the United Kingdom on Gibraltar.

“It has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself: shared prosperity, closer cooperation, and no more barrier for some 15,000 people who cross between Spain and Gibraltar every single day.

“It is a very special feeling to see a fence come down. 

“I now look forward to the successful implementation of this agreement,” added Šefčovič.