Displaying items by tag: Visas

In a bitter row over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, Spain has threatened to block visa-free access to the EU for Britons. Madrid refuses to back down on a controversial description of Gibraltar. Spain has made numerous attempts to use Brexit in its efforts to snatch back sovereignty of the Rock from Britain. Prime minister Pedro Sanchez faces a general election on 28 April. The British government maintains that Gibraltar is not a colony, and will continue to defend its overseas territory. During a meeting of EU ambassadors earlier this month, Sir Tim Barrow, the UK’s permanent EU representative, battled with his counterparts in protest at the move to brand the Rock a ‘colony’. ‘Gibraltar is not a colony, and it is completely inappropriate to describe it in this way. Gibraltar is a full part of the UK family’, he stated.

The C of E’s Diocese in Europe has begun exploring the implications that Britain’s decision to leave the EU might have on British-national clergy deployed to the continent. At present, as members of the EU, British nationals - including clergy - can travel, reside, and work in any of the other 27-member states without requiring visas or work permits. That may change when Britain leaves the EU. There are also questions about whether the reciprocal health-care arrangements for citizens of EU member states will continue to apply to British nationals once the UK completes the withdrawal process. The shape of the implications of Brexit on British citizens in Europe won’t be known until the conclusion of the negotiations on Britain’s new relationship with the EU. But the diocese has begun the process of exploring what the effects might be on its churches and their members across the continent, including a day of talks with Government minister Lord Bridges.