Gibraltar may become part of the Schengen area from 1 January. The United Kingdom, Spain and Gibraltar are very close to an agreement on border control between Gibraltar and Spain, writes the newspaper El Paise.

This means that residents of Gibraltar and Spain can cross the border independently and UK residents must show their passports. The Schengen region includes 22 EU countries, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland. The UK has never been part of the Schengen area.

It is clear that the United Kingdom also agrees with the agreement. The final negotiating point is now the one that will check the border for the British. “Spain said it wanted to do this, but then the Spaniards conducted an investigation on British territory, something that the English did not want to do,” said reporter Rop Zotberg.

The countries are currently negotiating the possibility that the European border agency Frontex will carry out these investigations.

Mainly economic importance

“The agreement is of great importance to Gibraltar and Spain, especially economically,” Zoutberg said. “Every day more than 15,000 people cross the border to work on the other side. 10,000 of them are spany guards.