Gibraltar will be part of the Schengen area from January 1



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However, it is not yet clear who will carry out the border control.

An agreement has been reached between Spain and Great Britain that Gibraltar will be part of the Schengen area as of January 1, 2021, Madrid said on Thursday. Arancha González Laya Spanish Chancellor in front of journalists.

The deal came a few hours before the end of the transition period that took effect after the end of Britain’s membership in the EU at midnight Thursday.

We have concluded an initial agreement with Great Britain, which will serve as the basis for a future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar.

The minister said, adding that as part of the agreement, Gibraltar will be part of the EU agreements, so it will remain part of the Schengen agreement.

The transitional period introduced after the entry into force of Brexit on January 31 will expire at midnight on December 31, so that Great Britain and its overseas territories will no longer be part of the single market and the customs union of the European Union . Since the British-controlled territory in the southernmost part of Spain belongs to the Schengen Union, border controls can be carried out at the international airport rather than at the Spanish border. It is not yet clear who will carry out the inspection.

In the absence of a last-minute deal reached on Thursday, tens of thousands of Gibraltarians and Spaniards working across the border would have had to go through border controls and have their passports stamped every day, the Spanish foreign minister said.

The MTI points out that Spain claims its sovereignty over the port of entry to the Mediterranean, which it renounced in 1713 in favor of Great Britain after the War of the Spanish Succession in the Treaty of Utrecht.



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