Spain introduces surprise border controls at the border with Gibraltar, leading to huge queues

Spain unexpectedly introduced border controls at the border with Gibraltar on Friday morning, leading to large queues at the border.

The Prime Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) that he received notification of the changes to the border last night, which led to the suspension of passport controls during the Brexit negotiations over the Rock.

He added that if the Spanish government did not lift border controls by 7am, he would have “no choice” but to “make mutual arrangements” when entering Gibraltar.

The Gibraltar government said a “huge queue” formed at the border at 7.30am “as a result of the measures implemented by Spain”.

Border controls were then lifted before resuming later in the morning, the Gibraltar government added, before both sides suspended controls at around 11.30am.

Gibraltar Prime Minister Fabian Picardo told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) that he received notification of the border changes yesterday evening

He added that if the Spanish government did not lift border controls by 7am, he would have “no choice” but to “make mutual arrangements” when entering Gibraltar

A statement from the Gibraltar government said a Spanish police inspector who was “not authorized by his superior to give this instruction” gave the order to have Gibraltarians’ passports stamped for entry into Spain.

Mr Picardo said: “Given the sporadic way in which Spain has decided, either through direct instructions or at the whim of Spanish police officers, that it can lift interim measures at any time, this is the best thing for those who need to cross.” the Gibraltar border to always have their passports with them in case we are forced to ask for them, as we were today.

“If the benefits currently given to Gibraltarians are reversed, the British Government of Gibraltar will immediately retaliate and I know that every Spanish worker and visitor will understand that we must act on this basis of reciprocity.”

“That is the last thing we want to do and as a socialist it really depresses me that politics is being used, as usual, to harm the interests of working people rather than to help them.”

This comes after the new Labor government announced last week that it wanted to return the disputed Chagos Islands to Mauritius after years of negotiations.

In Andalusia, a southern region of Spain that borders Gibraltar, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters that the European Union’s new digital border system would affect thousands on both sides of the border.

He said the new controls would mean non-EU citizens – such as Britons living in Gibraltar – would only be allowed to spend 90 days in Spain every 180 days unless a new agreement was reached.

The EU confirmed yesterday that the so-called entry/exit system (EES), originally due to be introduced on November 10, had been put on hold because key members of the bloc – namely France, Germany and the Netherlands – were unwilling to do so implement.

Since December 2020, a post-Brexit agreement between the UK, Spain and the EU has allowed Gibraltar citizens, alongside other EU agreements, to remain part of the border-free Schengen area

Pedestrians and drivers cross the border from Spain to Gibraltar in front of the Rock of Gibralta

The EES aims to abolish passport checks and stamps and replace the current system with a series of biometric tests that would require non-EU passport holders, including Brits, to provide fingerprints and facial scans upon their first entry into the Schengen zone.

Since December 2020, a post-Brexit agreement between the UK, Spain and the EU has allowed Gibraltar citizens, alongside other EU agreements, to remain part of the border-free Schengen area.

As a result of this agreement, Spanish border guards have allowed Gibraltar residents to enter and leave Spain without stamping their passports or invoking their 90-day travel limit.

In return, over 15,000 workers from Spain – who make up more than half of the working population on the Rock – were allowed to enter Gibraltar without any problem.

Last year, Madrid and London came close to reaching an agreement but failed to agree on the joint police operation at Gibraltar Airport, which moved 473,803 passengers through the airport last year.

Many of these passengers then travel on to nearby Spanish resorts such as Malaga and Marbella, which are popular with British tourists.

Mr Albares said: “It is time for the UK to say yes to a balanced and generous deal that we put on the table a long time ago.”

“The UK must now decide whether it wants a system restricting the movement of people in Gibraltar or the generous and balanced agreement on offer.”

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares (pictured) told reporters that the European Union’s new digital border system will affect thousands on both sides of the border

Sir Keir told MPs at PMQs on Wednesday that his government was committed to both the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar after an agreement was reached to return the Chagos Islands

However, the Gibraltar government has rejected any plans to station Spanish police in the territory.

Fabian Picardo, the prime minister of Gibraltar, has said he would not accept “Spanish troops on the ground”, the Daily Telegraph reported.

His government had previously threatened its own border controls if no agreement was reached between the two parties. This could potentially lead to delays at the border.

The disputed territory has been a thorn in the side of Anglo-Spanish relations for centuries since Gibraltar was separated from the United Kingdom in 1713.

The increasing pressure from Madrid comes after Labor agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius.

Sir Keir has defended the deal as necessary to secure the right of Britain and the US to continue to operate a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.