Gibraltar's position during the process of UK withdrawal from the European Union presented specific issues during Brexit negotiations.
Gibraltar was not covered by the Brexit agreement made in December 2020[1] and formal negotiations are taking place to determine its relationship with the EU.
[6] Before the referendum, José García-Margallo, the Spanish minister of foreign affairs at the time, stated that in the event of Brexit, Gibraltar would not have access to the Single Market unless a formula giving Spain co-sovereignty were agreed for a transitional period.
[16] Pro-Brexit Conservative MP Jack Lopresti thought it shameful that the EU would attempt to allow Spain an effective veto over the future of British sovereign territory, ignoring the will of the people of Gibraltar.
[18] Esteban González Pons, a Spanish MEP and chairman of the Brexit working group of the European People's Party, met with Ireland's Minister for European affairs Dara Murphy in May, when he (Pons) called Gibraltar a "colony" and pushed for support for the Spanish position that the status of Gibraltar is a bilateral issue solely for the UK and Spain to resolve.
[citation needed] The day after the result, Spain's acting Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, renewed calls for joint Spanish–British control of the peninsula.
[27] Air travel In 2017 a Spanish diplomat indicated that any agreement on airline landing rights for flights between the EU and the UK agreed during Brexit negotiations would not apply to the Gibraltar International Airport.
[30] Fintech companies like Payoneer moved their offices from Gibraltar to Ireland, the main English-speaking country left in the EU, as a result of the Brexit.
On 18 October 2018, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced that he had reached an agreement with Britain, declaring the Gibraltar protocol "resolved".
[35] On 22 November 2018, Pedro Sánchez threatened that Spain would veto the withdrawal agreement if Spanish concerns over Gibraltar were not addressed.
An agreement reached on 31 December 2020 allowed Gibraltar to join the Schengen Area in principle, but a treaty on the matter remained to be agreed.
[1] On 31 December 2020 both Spain and the UK Government wrote to the President of the European Commission asking them to seek a mandate to create a treaty concerning movement of labour and goods, the environment, citizens rights, continued recognition of documents etc.
[41] An agreement was reached on the creation of a special committee to handle Gibraltar–EU matters, such as free movement for people and border controls, containing only representatives from Spain and the UK.
On 31 December 2020, Spain and the United Kingdom reached an agreement in principle under which Gibraltar would join the European Union's Schengen Area.
[3] Spain has granted free border passage to workers and tourists to avoid disruption, and other pragmatic cross-border bridging measures have also been applied.
[3] No formal agreement had been reached by December 2021, and so several temporary bridging measures for mutual recognition were introduced with respect to driving licences and healthcare between Spain and Gibraltar.
[53] However, negotiations continued throughout the summer of 2022[54] and proceeded slowly, partly due to the British government crisis that took place at the time, and uncertainty remained about the timetable.
As a result it became necessary for residents of Gibraltar to purchase travel insurance in order to receive low cost emergency health care in Spain.
[58] Concerns about the possible election of a Spanish government in 2023 that could be less sympathetic to Gibraltar's aspirations led to renewed discussion of the possible consequences of the failure of the treaty talks.