Govt and GSD clash over EES registrations 

The Government and the GSD clashed yesterday after the Opposition criticised the Government’s response to problems faced by local residents who have been registered on the EU Entry/Exit System despite being exempt under the terms of the treaty. 

The GSD said the Government should have anticipated the problems and been more proactive in resolving them. 

But No.6 Convert Place said the GSD’s comments were “negative and destructive”, adding that they also betrayed lack of understanding of how the EES worked in practice. 

It said the solutions proposed by the EU after the matter was raised by the Government were the same as those offered all EU citizens with EES problems. 

The first comments came from the GSD, which called on the Government to coordinate the removal of residents wrongly registered on the EES, accusing it of leaving individuals to resolve problems that could disrupt their travel. 

The Opposition said a Government Technical Notice issued on October 13 placed the responsibility on citizens to pursue de-registration with individual countries, insisting arrangements should have been agreed with the European Commission during the treaty negotiations. 

Some Gibraltar residents had encountered problems when seeking to enter the Schengen area because of EES registrations made before or after July 15, 2026, the party said. 

It argued that the Government should act as a central point for collecting details of wrongly registered residents and passing them to the EU so the relevant countries could remove those entries. 

The Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi, also questioned the timing of the Government’s consultation with the EU. 

“Why has it taken till now, three months after the start of provisional implementation and after people are suffering travel issues, for the Government to have consulted with the EU on how Gibraltar residents would be de-registered from the EES system?” he asked. 

“It must have been obvious during the negotiations that people might have been registered before treaty implementation and that there was a real risk they could be wrongly registered after that.” 

The GSD said mobility across the Schengen area was the crucial benefit of the treaty for Gibraltar residents but remained subject to a limit of 90 days in every 180 days. 

The party said it had questioned that restriction after publication of the treaty text because it would create a hurdle to movement across Schengen. 

It argued that the EES registration problems reinforced its concerns and went beyond ordinary teething difficulties. 

“This is just a further example of a GSLP government desperately playing catch-up on Treaty implementation and not being sufficiently prepared for obvious issues while citizens suffer the pain or anxiety of travel disruption,” Mr Azopardi said. 

“The issue of EES de-registration is just one of a number of foreseeable post-treaty travel problems for Gibraltar residents which should have been anticipated by the Government and in respect of which solutions should already have been put in place or risks minimised.” 

GOVT REACTS 

Last night, the Government said EU data protection concerns prevented it from acting as an intermediary for residents seeking to correct or remove entries in the EES, rejecting GSD accusations that it had failed to prepare for foreseeable travel problems. 

Responding to the Opposition’s call for a central process to handle wrongly registered residents, the Government said it had explored that option but the European Commission had insisted Gibraltar card holders use the channels already available to everyone else. 

“The Government was willing to consider acting as an interface between the Gibraltar resident and the EES authorities,” No.6 said. 

“However, there was a reluctance on the other side to go down this route for EU data protection reasons.” 

The Government said requests to remove or alter EES records were handled by data controllers and data protection officers on behalf of Schengen member states. 

It added that some people who had submitted requests to the Schengen authorities days earlier had already received positive responses. 

The Government said Article 42 of the UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar exempted holders of Gibraltar identity cards and civil registration cards from registration and processing under EES. 

But it said the EES system itself was separate from the treaty and had been introduced progressively from October 2025, becoming fully operational in April 2026 before the treaty was signed and provisionally applied. 

As a result, some Gibraltar residents had been correctly registered before provisional application began on July 15, while others had been incorrectly registered afterwards. 

The Government said the phased introduction had also affected thousands of people across Europe and elsewhere who might have an entry recorded without a corresponding exit.  

Until recently, border guards had been able to override the system during busy periods. 

It said Europe-wide procedures already existed to address those problems and applied equally to Gibraltar card holders. 

The Government rejected the suggestion that it had been slow to act, saying it had published detailed information on EES since at least 2024 and 2025 and continued doing so after provisional application of the treaty. 

It said a notice issued on September 23 sought further information about residents’ experiences, which informed discussions with the Commission about whether a different procedure could be established for Gibraltar card holders. 

“The Commission has insisted that we used the same channels which are in existence for everyone else, and which were already in place while the treaty was being negotiated,” No.6 said. 

“It is therefore absurd to describe this situation as playing catch-up when the process was already there.” 

The Government acknowledged the impact on residents wrongly subjected to EES requirements at Schengen external borders. 

“The Government understands and accepts that it is frustrating and disruptive when Gibraltar card holders are wrongly prevented from exercising their treaty rights to EES exemption at external border crossing points of the Schengen area,” No.6 said. 

“The circulation of this information by the Commission once again will assist in facilitating those rights.” 

“Sadly, all this shows that the Opposition have no concept of the national interest and will not hesitate to play politics with every issue no matter how serious it might be.” 

“The good news is that some people who submitted a request to the Schengen authorities some days ago have already received a positive response.”