This coming Thursday (23 June) the UK will decide whether to stay inside the European Union or whether to sever ties with an institution it has been an intricate member of for over 40 years.
The BREXIT & BREMAIN camps have fought a hard and often tetchy campaign focussing on immigration and the economy that hasn’t followed any party lines with MPs and supporters from all political parties standing side by side in their respective camps.
The tragic, cold blooded murder of Jo Cox, Labour MP and mother of 2 young girls, by an alleged right wing extremist has only served to highlight the gulf between those who want to carry on inside the EU and those who think the UK would be better going it alone.
For British expats, especially the ones like me, who can’t vote, we will just have to sit and watch whilst others decide whether we continue to be citizens of Europe and enjoy the many benefits that it brings or whether the Brits go it alone and negotiate a new relationship with our European neighbours.
For many UK expats the most concerning aspect of leaving the EU is healthcare and freedom to legally work in Europe and what a BREXIT will mean for Ibiza as tourist destination seeing that Brits make up the majority of arrivals on the white isle?
In the short term the biggest change may be less money in the pockets of British tourists as the pound finds its footing post EU however this could change quickly as the financial world stabilises and the pound may strengthen as a reinvigorated standalone currency. Nobody knows.
Will less Brits travel to Spain? It’s difficult to see this happening with cheap flights and the close proximity of the countries. There’s too much to lose for both sides to make life difficult for tourists so I suspect it will be business as usual. However nobody knows.
In case of a BREXIT what difference will there be for ex-pats? Things will be different but knowing how the Spanish system works, nothing will change anytime soon. A 2-3 year consultation period will give both governments enough time to thrash out an agreement that suits both sides however I suspect that Gibraltar may play a part in any negotiations. Once again nobody really knows.
There’s a lot of speculation, emotion and misinformation however nobody really knows what will happen with a BREXIT and that is why so many are still undecided with only 2 days to go until voting.
Will the UK start a domino effect by going it alone and starting an EU revolution or will they stay in the Union and try and renegotiate from within? Whatever the result the wheels of democracy must be respected and accepted.
"MAN IN SAN AN" by Martin Makepeace 
Brexit has sent a clear message to the EU today. Spain is keen to negotiate new terms over Gibraltar.
Could a UK-ES co-sovereignty agreement of Gibraltar protect our free access (Tourist / Trade / Expat) to Spain?
LikeLike