- Published
Every weekday morning, Shilpi Chotrani rides her bicycle from her home in the Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción to Gibraltar.
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Chotrani → publish → Gibraltar
It's a short journey but it means crossing an international border.
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it → mean → border
A British Overseas Territory of around 40,000 inhabitants, Gibraltar has a border control for those entering and leaving.
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Gibraltar → have → those
That means that during the morning and afternoon rush hours, when around 15,000 Spaniards who work in the territory cross the frontier, there can be long, time-consuming queues.
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who → mean → frontier
"The fact that there is a border between us is ridiculous," says Chotrani, who has a job in human resources in a Gibraltarian shipping and tourism company.
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who → be → company
"I don't think a fence should separate people from one place and another."
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fence → think → place
Behind her, the 1,400-foot-tall Rock of Gibraltar is shrouded in early-morning cloud.
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Rock → shroud → cloud
Perched at the southern tip of mainland western Europe, it is just nine miles from Morocco, at a point where the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea meet.
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Ocean → perch → point
It is a place that has witnessed military battles, sovereignty disputes and a 13-year blockade imposed by Spain.
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that → witness → Spain
But from 15 July, it is scheduled to see a new development - the removal of the border, allowing freedom of movement between Spain and Gibraltar.
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it → schedule → Spain
This is part of a carefully negotiated agreement between the European Union and the UK following the latter's exit from the bloc.
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This → negotiate → bloc
Sharing a land border with the EU meant that Gibraltar posed a particular challenge in the post-Brexit era.
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Gibraltar → share → era
"This is going to be a great step forward, both for the Spanish side and the British side," says Chotrani.
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Chotrani → go → side
"All of those of us who live [in La Línea de la Concepción] think this is a great idea.
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this → live → Concepción
This should have been done a long time ago.
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This → do → ?
Gibraltar has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
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Gibraltar → have → world
The removal of the border is therefore expected to have major economic benefits, facilitating the flow of people back and forth, and possibly going some way to redress the imbalance between the two territories.
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removal → expect → territories
"This is something historic, we've had a border fence since 1908," says Juan Franco, the mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, who is keen to underline the local economic dependence on the British territory.
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who → have → territory
"You have to realise that for an average company in this town a third of its income is from clients in Gibraltar," he says.
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he → have → Gibraltar
After a decade of uncertainty regarding Gibraltar's future relationship with Spain following the UK's vote to leave the EU, Franco says he believes "this solution to Brexit will end up having a positive effect for us".
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solution → regard → us
Gibraltarians were staunchly opposed to Brexit, with 96% of them voting to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum on the issue.
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% → vote → issue
That staunchly pro-EU stance was driven partly by concerns that exiting the bloc would encourage Spanish sovereignty claims on the Rock.
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exiting → drive → Rock
But another major factor was Gibraltar's existing close trade relationship with the EU – particularly in areas such as online gaming, shipping and financial services – and fears about the logistical challenges Brexit would pose.
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Brexit → exist → challenges
After years of negotiation involving Spain, the EU and the UK, the solution has been to align Gibraltar with the European customs union and the Schengen European free travel zone.
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solution → involve → union
Travellers arriving from countries outside Schengen, such as the UK, will have to show their passports to Gibraltarian and Spanish officials at the territory's airport and port.
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Travellers → arrive → airport
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, says the new arrangements, which are due to be provisionally implemented with their approval by the UK and European Parliaments still pending, represent "a huge change" for the territory.
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which → say → territory
"One of the key things which has defined the past eight generations of Gibraltarians is the restrictions at the frontier," he told the BBC in the Gibraltarian government's headquarters.
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he → define → headquarters
Picardo describes the agreement as introducing "complete and utter fluidity of people and goods" between Gibraltar, on the one hand, and Spain and the EU on the other.
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Picardo → describe → other
The most obvious economic benefit for Gibraltar, Picardo says, will be an increase in arrivals.
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Picardo → say → arrivals
"Business will now be able, in Gibraltar, to see a footfall increase which is not going to be restrained by a potential queue on the way in or frontier queue on the way out.
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which → see → way
With Spain contesting the UK's sovereignty of Gibraltar, it is an issue that occasionally flares up in the political arena.
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that → contest → arena
In the most notorious episode of bilateral tensions in recent times, Spain's dictator, Francisco Franco, introduced a blockade of the Rock in 1969, which was only lifted in 1982, well after his death.
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which → introduce → death
The chief minister casts the new arrangement as the opposite of the blockade - a logical, mutually beneficial opening up of a border.
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minister → cast → border
"This will be huge for human relations, it will be huge for business, it will be huge for frontier workers, it will be a new dawn" for Gibraltar's relationship with Spain and the EU, says Picardo.
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Picardo → say → Spain
Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has cast it in a similar light, speaking of "a new era" for the Rock.
However, the deal also means that goods sold in Gibraltar must comply with EU regulations, something that had not been the case until now.
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that → cast → regulations
In addition, the lack of value added tax (VAT) in Gibraltar has meant that a new transaction tax is being introduced, replacing import duty.
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tax → add → duty
Charged on all goods sold in Gibraltar, it will start at 15% this year, eventually rising to 17%.
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it → charge → %
John Isola, managing director of Anglo Hispano Company, which runs several restaurants and bars on the Rock, says there is a sense of relief among the Gibraltarian business community that the drawn-out Brexit issue has, finally, been resolved – and without a hard border.
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issue → run → border
He sees the new arrangement as "a good compromise" that will encourage more visitors to Gibraltar and therefore more business.
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that → see → Gibraltar
However, Isola also admits to some nervousness due to the new regulations and tax regime, which he expects will have an impact on competitiveness.
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he → admit → competitiveness
…and 5 more, not listed.
