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Rules, rules GIBRALTAR’s bluefin tuna fishing season opened on Monday with a total allowable catch of 26 tonnes split across two periods. The first phase runs until July 25 with a 23-tonne quota, whilst the second phase from August 6 to October 14 allows for the remaining three tonnes. Both periods will close early if quotas are reached. Anglers must hold a Class K licence and are limited to one fish per day per vessel. The minimum catch size is 30kg and 130cm fork length, with all catches requiring reporting and weighing at the dedicated landing station on North Mole's No 1 Jetty. Environmental protections remain paramount, with ‘popping’ techniques banned north of Rosia Bay to protect dolphins. Vessels must maintain 60 metres distance from cetaceans and travel at maximum four knots within 500 metres of marine mammals. The landing station operates Monday to Saturday from 9am to 2.30pm, with after-hours reporting available through on-call staff. Weekend and holiday services are
Warning sign THE GSD has warned that a planned 5% increase in the Social Insurance Cap for both employees and employers is ‘ominous’. The move will come into effect from 1st July 2025, according to a gazette published on June 12. Shadow Finance Minister Roy Clinton MP pointed out that Fabian Picardo had already announced a 5% increase in the 2024 Budget to ‘stabilise the fund’. The GSD politician expressed concern that the latest increase comes outside the normal budget cycle, at a time when costs continue to rise for both businesses and employees across Gibraltar. “I look forward to hearing from the chief minister in his 2025 Budget address the reasons for this latest increase together with his projections for the level of contributions needed to fund the Group Practice Medical Scheme and the solvency of the statutory benefits fund,” Clinton said.
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History made Schengen access for residents but Brits the biggest losers as postBrexit agreement for Gibraltar is finally agreed GIBRALTAR at long last has its deal, and one week later, the ramifications are still being chewed over. Is it joint sovereignty? A total surrender? A necessary – if painful – compromise? Chief Minister Fabian Picardo emerged from the meeting in Brussels on June 11 with his counterparts to announce a ‘conclusive political agreement’ had finally been reached. It came after nine years after the Brexit vote, plus another 18 rounds of formal negotiations – and a further few weeks of fevered speculation. The headline announcement was that the border with Spain will effectively disappear, people and goods will move freely – and ‘dual Gibraltar-Schengen controls’ will take place at the airport and port. There was an immediate clamour on both sides of the fence to understand just what the implications were from this momentous new understanding. Was Gibraltar’s sovereignty secured? Who would operate the airport? Would the Rock have to give up its low-tax status? Was the British military base secure? Seven days later, one thing has become clear; while the deal has many positives for Gibraltar, it’s Brits who walk away with the least.
What will change?
Gibraltar retains exclusive responsibility for immigration and law and order, while Spanish officials will be responsible for the Schengen area. Gibraltar will form a ‘Common Travel Area’ with Schengen, rather than
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TRIUMPH: Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy celebrate the deal
By Walter Finch
becoming a fully paid-up member. The border in its current form will be removed, and people will be able to move freely without having to show ID or undergo checks. For British citizens, going to the Rock will count as using their 90/180 days in the Schengen zone – but not for Gibraltar ID card holders. Gibraltar will implement a ‘transaction tax’ on goods entering Gibraltar, which will replace existing import duties – it will never be lower than the lowest rate of VAT in the EU (currently 17% in Luxembourg). Corporate tax rates are not affected by the agreement, as Gibraltar already complies with the global minimum rate of 15%. The agreement ensures the ‘full operational autonomy of the UK’s military base in Gibraltar’, while the ongoing sovereignty dispute between Spain and the UK remains the same (ie. unresolved).
Who are the winners and the losers? WINNERS Gibraltar residents (of any nationality): They will find their residence card gives them visa-free access to Spain and the entire Schengen area – so no need for passport stamping or Brussel’s convoluted EES and ETIAS travel barriers. It will be impossible for Spanish border guards to stop British residents or Gibraltarians from entering the territory.
Cross-border workers: Around 10,000 Spanish and 5,000 international workers will no longer have to show ID and face long queues with a new fluid border. Housing: Picardo said that the deal will unblock a house-building spree which will see 200 units knocked up a year. Gibraltar’s economy: It avoids a hard border that would have been an ‘existential threat’, in the words of Business Minister Nigel Feetham – especially the gaming sector, by far the Rock’s largest economic contributor. Gibraltar will also gain access to the EU market of 480 million people. Spanish citizens: They will be able to move freely around Gibraltar as they please, while Brits will not enjoy the same privilege in Spain. LOSERS British citizens: Spanish border police will stamp British passports at the airport on entry to Gibraltar – and be able to deny Brits access if they have used up their 90 days.
Gibraltar importers: They will have to pay a transaction tax on goods entering – while not officially VAT, it will match the lowest rate of VAT in the EU (currently 17% in Luxembourg). The nationalists: Nigel Farage called the deal a ‘surrender’ after Spanish police were given power over British citizens in Gibraltar. But former Spanish foreign minister Jose García-Margallo also called it a ‘missed opportunity’ for Spain and a ‘triumph for Gibraltar’.
What about the airport?
The deal will unlock flights from Gibraltar to Madrid, Barcelona and other EU destinations – providing welcome transport options for hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists. A ‘Schengen shack’ will be set up equidistant between Spain and Gibraltar. Arrivals will first be processed by Gibraltar officials, and then will go before their Spanish counterparts for their Schengen checks.
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