Closing the Frontier: Gibraltar's Post-Brexit Deadline Looms

Spanish Foreign Minister urges Britain to finalize the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar by November 10 to avoid a hard border. Gibraltar's future has been in dispute since Brexit. While Spain, Britain, and the EU have made progress, border control and airport policing remain unresolved issues.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has called on Britain to finalize the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar by November 10 to avoid complications from new EU border controls potentially creating a hard border.

Gibraltar, under British rule since the 18th century, remains a contentious issue following Britain's 2016 EU withdrawal. A provisional agreement reached in December 2020 kept Gibraltar within EU accords like the Schengen Area, pending a permanent resolution. Albares has pressed the UK to agree to a balanced solution that Spain proposed long ago.

Negotiations stalled last year over the joint use and control of Gibraltar airport. Since a new British government took office in July, progress has been undisclosed. Albares warned that upcoming border controls would affect citizens on both sides and advocated for Gibraltar's inclusion in the Schengen Area.

(With inputs from agencies.)