The EU has defined Gibraltar as a British colony in the middle of the Brexit conflict

The measure was approved by 502 votes in favor, 81 against and 29 abstentions.

Whenever London adopts an equivalent action for European citizens, the reform allows the British to travel to the European borderless area for short stays (90 days over a maximum period of 180 days) without a visa.

This initiative was controversial as Member States included in their negotiating position a footnote in which Gibraltar was called a "colony".

To enter into force, the reform of the visa exemption should be published in the EU's official newspaper before April 12, in case there would be a Brexit without agreement, news agencies reported EFE and Europa Press.

Before the new regulation was approved, conservative UK MEP Ashley Fox called for the vote to be postponed until the next plenary session to hold a debate on Gibraltar, a possibility that was rejected.

The parliamentarian Spanish Socialist Party of Workers Iratxe García Pérez (PSOE) said that he would not allow "to insult the Spanish government because it was an insult to the feeling of the vast majority of men and women" from the country.

The independent British MP European People's Group Julie Girling asked to include amendments to the reform, a proposal also rejected by the plenary, and said the file had been "hijacked by a politically justified intervention of Spain in the Council".

The spokesperson of the People's Party Esteban Gonzalez Pons said that "postponing this vote or amending the report condemns millions of Europeans to apply for a visa to visit United Kingdom or from the United Kingdom to the European Union ".

The denomination "colony" does not change the legal status of the Rock, included in the list of territories of the UN pending decolonization, but Spain considers that it has "a diplomatic value and politics ".

The reference to Gibraltar as a British colony was a claim of Spain, which wished to make clear in the European texts that the legal position of the territory at the time of Brexit, and consequently to leave European law, should be framed by United Nations resolutions.