UK agrees to a fluid border between Gibraltar and Spain which won’t require checks on individuals crossing as Government finalises post-Brexit take care of EU

The UK has agreed to a fluid border between Gibraltar and Spain – which will not require checks on people crossing – the Government said today, clearing the way to finalise a post-Brexit deal with the EU.

Gibraltarian chief minister Fabian Picardo said on X: ‘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, posting on X: ‘It safeguards the integrity of Schengen and the Single Market, while ensuring stability, legal certainty and prosperity for the region.’

Foreign Secretary David Lammy held talks with Gibraltar’s leaders, members of the opposition and the business community before leaving the British overseas territory to head to Brussels this morning.

Talks on rules governing the border of Spain and Gibraltar have been ongoing since Britain left the EU in 2020.

Ministers previously insisted that no deal would be done without the full support of Gibraltar’s government.

Mr Lammy held talks with chief minister Fabian Picardo in Gibraltar along with the UK’s overseas territories minister Stephen Doughty.

Gibraltar Airport

The ministers and Mr Picardo then travelled to Brussels for talks with the EU and Spanish representatives.

Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain in 1713 and the population is heavily in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.

The last time it voted on a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain, in 2002, almost 99 per cent of Gibraltarians rejected the move.

Gibraltar also hosts an RAF base at its airport and an important naval facility.

The Government, in line with its Conservative predecessors, previously said it would not sign up to a deal that gives sovereignty over Gibraltar to another country, or that the Gibraltarian government is not content with.

The strategic defence review, released earlier this month, said the UK would maintain a military presence in Gibraltar, ‘upholding the sovereignty of British Gibraltar territorial waters’.

More to follow