Spain is open to constructive solutions when it comes to allowing the freedom of movement at the country’s border with Gibraltar, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has said.
In an interview with El Pais, Albares said that Spain can do so while meeting its Schengen obligations, Schengen.News reports.
The discussions that aim to resolve the status of Gibraltar post-Brexit have frozen over key issues, especially related to the implementation of a new automated IT system.
The Minister said Spain’s objective remained to reach an agreement with Gibraltar and create a zone of shared prosperity, stressing that the Schengen requirements must also be met.
The Schengen code establishes how things must be done. If Gibraltar wants freedom of movement, it can have it; the only thing is that it must follow the procedures that apply at all entry and exit points of the Schengen area.
The Minister will also meet with his counterpart from the United Kingdom, David Lammy, to discuss the issue. Last week, Lammy said that the UK was committed to reaching a UK-EU agreement that gives certainty to Gibraltar and its people, stressing that it would only agree on terms that Gibraltar was content with.
Talks at Irreversible Point, Spain Claims
Negotiations between both parties to reach an agreement in the future have reached a turning point.
Negotiations have reached an irreversible point where we either finalise the agreement, or the British side indicates that they don’t want it.
However, Albares insisted that he saw in Lammy a will to reach an agreement. Mentioning the new entry and exit system for Schengen that will become effective in November, which includes Gibraltar, Albares said “all the more reason” to have this agreement as soon as possible.
An Agreement Needed by November
In July of this year, the government of Gibraltar warned of significant changes for cross-border travel between Spain if a post-Brexit agreement is not reached by November.
Negotiations to reach an agreement in this regard continue. However, Gibraltar warned that the countdown is until November when the EU’s new entry and exit system becomes effective.
If an agreement is not made until November, the government of Gibraltar has said that all non-Schengen nationals, including those from Gibraltar, would need to meet the requirements to enter the European Union holding a passport, justifying their travel purpose and prove they have enough money to cover their stays and not having been in the borderless area for more than 90 days in any 180-day period, according to a report from AA.
The outcome of this questioning could lead to refusals of entry to Spain and the Schengen Area for those who, in the eyes of the Schengen authorities, including the Spanish authorities at the land border with Spain, do not meet the entry conditions.
The government of Gibraltar also warned that the new system could cause significant border delays, adding that if a deal with the EU is not reached in time, it plans to retaliate.