From Reuters:
“Spain, EU propose to keep
Gibraltar land border open, Spain says”
(A view of La Verja (The Gate),
which marks the border between Spain and Gibraltar, in front of the Rock, on
the first day of work following the end of the transition period and the
post-Brexit deal, in La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain January 4, 2021.)
Spain and the European Commision
have sent Britain a proposal to keep the Gibraltar land border open as part of
a definitive solution settling the post-Brexit status of the enclave, the
Spanish foreign ministry said on Friday. Spain, Britain and the European Union
agreed on Dec. 31, 2020, hours before Britain's full exit from the bloc, that
Gibraltar would remain part of EU agreements such as the Schengen Area and
Spain would police the port and the airport, pending a definitive solution. Spain's
Foreign Affairs minister Jose Manuel Albares told Spanish local and regional
authorities near Gibraltar on Friday both Spain and the European Commission had
sent Britain "a proposal to make the area a zone of shared
prosperity". The British ambassador in Madrid Hugh Elliott said on
Thursday in an interview on Gibraltar TV GBC he was confident a deal can be
reached this year.
The Spanish-EU proposal includes
removing the fence to ensure free flow of people between Spain and the enclave,
the Spanish ministry said in a statement. "This requires Spain to take
control, on behalf of the Schengen area, of Gibraltar's external borders and,
to this end, to be able to exercise certain functions and powers necessary to
protect the integrity and security of the Schengen area," it added.
About 15,000 people commute daily
from Spain to Gibraltar, which has a population of about 32,000. Spain has
agreed to put aside the issue of its sovereignty claim over Gibraltar to focus
on the opportunity to keep the border open, the Foreign Minister said.
^ Franco closed the Border
between Spain and Gibraltar from 1969-1975 (his Death) and it didn’t reopen
until 1985 when Spain was forced to when it joined the European Community – now
the European Union – since the United Kingdom was part of the EC/EU at the time
and could have stopped Spain from joining. Now Spain is still in the EU and the
UK is out.
Hopefully, the different sides: Spain, the EU,
Gibraltar and the UK can continue to find a solution to keep the Border open
since it would benefit everyone. ^
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