[Sephiroth]

... on two fronts.

1. Gibraltar's post-Brexit status

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57908376
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pres.../en/ip_21_3747

Quotes below are from the EC proposal to the EU. In essence, the EU's mandate, if approved, would propose giving all port entry/exit & visa control to Spain, with Spanish officers on the UK side of the border.

j) The envisaged agreement should provide that Spain would be exclusively competent for issuing, on the basis of Union law, short-stay visas in respect of Gibraltar.

k) Rules providing that Spain would be sole competent to issue or renew long-stay visas valid for Gibraltar. Such long-stay visas may only be issued or renewed where the relevant conditions under law applicable in the territory of Gibraltar are fulfilled, which is to be determined by the UK authorities in respect of Gibraltar; Spain may refuse to issue or renew a visa on the basis of an alert in the Schengen Information System; the agreement would provide that the issuing of a long-stay visa valid for Gibraltar should not oblige a Member State to withdraw an alert for the purposes of refusal of entry from the Schengen Information System.

26. Given the Union and Gibraltar’s geographic proximity and economic interdependence, the envisaged agreement should ensure open and fair competition, encompassing robust commitments to ensure a level playing field and contribute to sustainable development. These commitments should take into account the scope and depth of the envisaged agreement, the overall relationship and the economic connectedness. The envisaged agreement should uphold high standards over time, with Union standards and international standards applied within the EU as a reference point, in particular in the areas of State aid, labour and social standards, environment and climate, tax matters, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing and other regulatory measures and practices in those areas. The envisaged agreement should ensure that the port of Gibraltar competes fairly with other European ports, in particular the port of Algeciras, including, inter alia, with respect to bunkering services.

62. In relation to the provisions of Union law made applicable to Gibraltar, the institutions, in particular the Court of Justice of the European Union, and bodies, offices and agencies of the Union should, in relation to the UK (Gibraltar) and natural and legal persons residing or established in the territory of Gibraltar, have the powers as conferred upon them by Union law. In particular, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) should have
the jurisdiction provided for in the Treaties in that respect.

2. The NI Protocol

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57911148

The UK has unveiled a new set of demands to redraw the post-Brexit trading arrangements it agreed with the EU for Northern Ireland.

The government said border checks on goods from Great Britain it signed up to in the 2019 Brexit divorce deal had proved unsustainable.

Brexit Minister Lord Frost said they risked harming business, and were damaging the "fabric" of the UK.

The EU said it would not agree to renegotiate the terms of the 2019 deal.

Something rather larger than popcorn time!