The Consequences of Brexit for Gibraltar

Abstract

Within the framework of negotiations between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), a Protocol on Gibraltar was included in the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU, signed in January 2020. That Protocol makes reference to the four bilateral agreements or Anglo-Spanish Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on citizens’ rights, tobacco and other products, environmental cooperation and police and customs cooperation, with provision for the adoption of an international treaty on taxation and protection of financial interests.
Withdrawal Agreement negotiations have implied a major shake-up in Anglo-Spanish relations concerning Gibraltar, as Spain is recognized as an essential role for the application of EU law to said territory. This position of negotiating strength is maintained since after leaving the UK the EU must reach an agreement on the future EU-UK Relations Treaty before the end of the transitional period in December 2020. Spain’s relationship with the UK and Gibraltar is also conditioned by the express recognition given to the competent authorities (not only those of Gibraltar, but also those of the surrounding area) in the Memoranda of Understanding as well as in the Protocol on Gibraltar adopted by the EU and the UK.
The object of this Study will be to analyse the consequences of Brexit for Gibraltar in relation to the following EU freedoms and policies, among others: Cross-border cooperation and economic, social and territorial cohesion: the creation of a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC)-Campo de Gibraltar/Gibraltar; Area of freedom, security and justice: police cooperation; Free movement of persons - frontier workers; Freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services and; Environmental cooperation. All these aspects are examined from a double perspective: with a ‘hard Brexit’ without an agreement, or with a Brexit with a UK-EU agreement.