Mar 01 - Cabinet Paper Warns: Brexit Would Have “Serious Implications” For Gibraltar
A Foreign Office Cabinet Paper published on Monday warns that there would be “serious implications” for Gibraltar if the UK were to leave the EU.
The document - entitled “The process for withdrawing from the European Union” - was presented by the Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond and details the possible future scenarios and likely timelines should the UK vote to leave the EU in June’s referendum.
Apart from the obstacles and uncertainties surrounding the negotiation of trade deals, the paper briefly considers the possible impact of “Brexit” on the Rock.
It says: “There would be serious implications for Gibraltar were the UK to withdraw from the EU. Inside the EU, Gibraltarians have the right to move freely to Spain, and the right to establish a business and provide services there. But, before Spain joined the EU in 1986, the border was closed from 1969–85. If the UK left the EU, there would be no certainty that the border would remain open.”
The full text is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503830/54538_EU_Series_No2_Print_ready.pdf
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