Spain hopes to reach deal on Gibraltar status with Britain by October

Spain hopes to reach a deal with Britain by October on the status of Gibraltar ahead of Britain's exit from the European Union, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday at a European Union summit in Salzburg.

Spain needed a transitional period alongside Britain to reach agreements on matters relating to environmental, fiscal and tobacco trading laws on the British territory in the south of Spain, he said.

"We need to have an agreement on Gibraltar by October," he said.