Gibraltar could be rock on which Brexit founders

Gibraltar, a tiny chunk of rock in the Mediterranean, is creating friction in Brexit negotiations.

Gibraltar is about twice the size of New York’s Central Park. Its 32,000 citizens voted against joint British/Spanish rule, and voted against Brexit.

The island has long enjoyed free access; workers and tourists from across Europe could easily enter the island without any special documents.

After Brexit, the island might not have such substantial links with the European Union.

Now Gibraltar wants special status—access to the EU’s labor and goods markets, and ties with the U.K.

Gibraltar has been under British rule for 300 years, but Spain has claimed the island for about as long. The tiny island has held up European negotiations in the past, and might do it again.

The EU offered Spain the right to veto future deals on Gibraltar’s status with the EU, which has outraged many Gibraltar citizens.

Gibraltar said Spain is using Brexit to gain control of the island unfairly.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May does not want to argue the point, apparently. She is more interested in establishing healthy relations for the rest of the U.K. with the EU—one tiny rock in the Mediterranean seems not worth the effort.

However the matter is resolved, the lives of Gibraltar’s residents will never be the same.