Spain & UK Sign Bilateral Post Brexit Agreement
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez is in London yesterday , where he met the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Downing Street to sign a new bilateral agreement intended to reinforce relations between the two nations in the post-Brexit era including trade and Gibraltar.
The United Kingdom is the largest destination for Spanish goods outside of the EU, with export volume reaching €24.4 billion in 2024.
Sanchez is scheduled to attend a meeting with British and Spanish companies at No10 including Spanish bank Santander as well as British energy giant BP and the pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca.
The visit comes on the heels of a recent deal concerning Gibraltar, which ha remained unresolved until an agreement was reached in June.
Welcoming Sánchez to 10 Downing Street, Starmer stressed the enduring ties between Britain and Spain. In turn, Sánchez praised the British leader and his administration for helping to resolve the long-standing Gibraltar impasse that had lingered since the Brexit referendum in 2016.
The newly signed agreement covers collaboration in areas such as economic growth, migration and other mutual priorities. It also follows a June arrangement between the UK, Spain, and the European Union to lift border checks at Gibraltar during the summer months.
Since Britain’s departure from the EU in 2020, Gibraltar’s future relationship with the bloc had remained unsettled, with negotiations on cross-border movement of goods and people progressing only slowly.
The small territory, home to around 34,000 residents, voted overwhelmingly (96%) to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum, reflecting its heavy reliance on EU market access.
