MSN 23 December 2025 -by Alesia Fiddler
Unrestricted travel in the EU for Brits living in Gibraltar could 'undo the damage' of Brexit.
Back in 2016, a whopping 96 per cent of the British Overseas territory's population voted against Brexit.
Thousands of workers from Spain cross the border each day to work in Gibraltar, or to visit family and friends, and there were concerns over what the huge political move could impact. Now its Government is taking steps bring in a post-Brexit deal that could make travel much easier, the i paper reports.
The agreement was finalised last week and it is expected to be introduced by next summer.
Gibraltarian chief minister Fabian Picardo told the i Paper: 'This will in effect undo the damage that Brexit did to Gibraltar and that we have been able to keep at bay with these negotiations.'
The deal was finalised on Wednesday by diplomats from Britain, the EU, Gibraltar and Spain.
Fabian revealed it will go through legal checks before officially being signed off. Gibraltar's government is taking steps bring in a post-Brexit deal that could make travel much easier
Earlier this year, Britain agreed to a 'fluid' Gibraltar border that will remove physical checks on travel between the territory and Spain.
However it will allow EU passport controls at the Rock's airport for the first time.
At the time, Fabian welcomed what he said was a 'historic agreement' that means Britons will face Schengen-style border checks when landing there, despite it being a British Overseas Territory.
Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the EU in 2020.
Madrid's claim to the enclave ceded more than 300 years ago.
There will be dual border control checks for arrivals by air at Gibraltar airport, carried out by Gibraltarian and Spanish officials.
It means Britons who fly to the Rock having to show their passports to Spanish or EU border guards, despite it being UK territory.
However, it would also mean that the Spain-Gibraltar border could be fully re-opened so that people living either side of it can travel across it seamlessly.
Gibraltarian chief minister Fabian Picardo told the i Paper: 'This will in effect undo the damage that Brexit did to Gibraltar and that we have been able to keep at bay with these negotiations.'The deal still needs to be approved by UK and EU parliaments.
Last month Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the Brexit deal as 'botched'.
He said: 'We must confront the reality that the botched Brexit deal significantly hurt our economy.
'You do not need to have a PhD in economics to know that erecting unnecessary trade barriers with your biggest trading partner will hurt growth and raise the cost of living.'
