Brussels: The Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) agreed today on the texts of the agreement, as well as on the decisions concerning the signing and provisional application of the Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar. The agreement is described as a milestone in EU-United Kingdom relations by Christina Rafti, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the texts will be formally adopted once the legal and linguistic review by the Council's lawyer-linguists has been completed. The agreement is expected to enter into provisional application on 15 July 2026.
The EU-United Kingdom Agreement on Gibraltar aims to complete the legal framework governing relations between the two sides following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the EU. It is designed to complement the Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed in 2020 and in force since 2021, from which Gibraltar is not included.
The main objective of the agreement is to secure the future prosperity of the entire region by removing physical barriers to the movement of persons and goods between Spain and Gibraltar, while safeguarding the Schengen area, the EU Single Market, and the Customs Union.
In related statements, Christina Rafti emphasized that the Cyprus Presidency worked intensively to advance the issue, describing the agreement as a milestone in EU-United Kingdom relations. She added that this development paves the way for a stronger, mutually beneficial, and forward-looking partnership. Rafti underlined that the agreement is expected to benefit both the people of the region and the European Union as a whole.