{"id":692870,"date":"2026-07-15T11:27:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/692870\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T11:27:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:27:11","slug":"spain-and-gibraltar-celebrate-as-border-fence-falls-after-signing-of-historic-deal-gibraltar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/692870\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain and Gibraltar celebrate as border fence falls after signing of \u2018historic deal\u2019 | Gibraltar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain and Gibraltar<\/a> are celebrating the fall of the last frontier fence in western Europe after the signing of a post-Brexit deal that brings an end to border checks for residents, tourists and the thousands of Spanish workers who cross into the British overseas territory every day.<\/p>\n

The agreement, which was signed in Brussels on Tuesday and came into effect at midnight, marks the conclusion of more than four years of negotiations between the UK, Spain<\/a>, Gibraltar and the EU after Britain\u2019s departure from the bloc.<\/p>\n

The deal<\/a> eliminates border controls and customs checks to create a fluid frontier, and gives Spain responsibility for Schengen controls at Gibraltar\u2019s airport and port. It has also led to the removal of the border fence that has physically separated Spain from Gibraltar since 1908.<\/p>\n

Gibraltar, which was ceded to the British crown under the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, is home to only about 40,000 people and relies heavily on the 15,000 Spanish workers who cross into the territory each day. The Rock, as the territory is nicknamed, is also hugely important to the economy of the neighbouring Campo de Gibraltar region of Andaluc\u00eda.<\/p>\n

People walk across the border between Spain and Gibraltar in La L\u00ednea de la Concepci\u00f3n on Wednesday as the iron border gates are removed. Photograph: Roman Rios\/EPA<\/p>\n

Under the previous system, long rush-hour queues formed at the border, especially during periods of heightened tension between Madrid and London.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s foreign minister, Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares, hailed the deal as a \u201chistoric agreement\u201d that would ensure mutual prosperity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have just put an end to a long period of discord and opened the door to a new era of coexistence for two populations that lived apart and are now joining hands, three centuries later,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a historic agreement, an agreement for the future, which represents a huge leap forward in terms of stability and prosperity for the 300,000 Andaluc\u00edans in the Campo de Gibraltar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibraltar\u2019s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, said the treaty, which does not affect the territory\u2019s British sovereignty, marked the beginning of a new era.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe frontier that has so often divided and constrained our region will now become a place of cooperation and shared opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cThe daily lives of thousands of people will be made easier, our economy will be given greater certainty and Gibraltar\u2019s future will rest on firm legal foundations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picardo added: \u201cWe have reached this moment without surrendering who we are, without compromising our British sovereignty and without weakening the constitutional protections that define Gibraltar.\u201d<\/p>\n

British and Spanish nationals celebrate the end of border controls as the Gibraltar treaty took effect at midnight. Photograph: Marcos Moreno\/AP<\/p>\n

The UK minister for Europe<\/a>, Stephen Doughty, called the signing of the treaty \u201ca very special moment\u201d, while the European commissioner Maro\u0161 \u0160ef\u010dovi\u010d toasted \u201cshared prosperity and no more barrier for the 15,000 people crossing between Spain and Gibraltar daily\u201d.<\/p>\n

Under the terms of the deal, Gibraltar will become a de facto part of the EU\u2019s Schengen free-movement area and Britons flying into the territory will have to pass through the bloc\u2019s new entry\/exit system (EES), whose fingerprint and face scans have caused long queues at some airports.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am concerned [similar queues] could happen,\u201d Picardo told the Financial Times <\/a>this week.<\/p>\n

The Spanish prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, is to travel to the border town of La L\u00ednea de la Concepci\u00f3n on Wednesday to witness the removal of the last remaining section of the border fence.<\/p>\n

Spain has long sought the return of its lost territory. The Brexit referendum in June 2016 prompted the conservative Spanish government of the time to suggest that joint sovereignty could be an option<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Workers with a crane remove the iron gates of the border at La L\u00ednea de la Concepci\u00f3n on Wednesday. Photograph: Roman Rios\/EPA<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a complete change of outlook that opens up new possibilities on Gibraltar not seen for a very long time,\u201d the country\u2019s then acting foreign minister, Jos\u00e9 Manuel Garc\u00eda-Margallo, told Onda Cero radio just after the referendum. \u201cI hope the formula of co-sovereignty \u2013 to be clear, the Spanish flag on the rock \u2013 is much closer than before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suggestion was rebuffed by Gibraltar and London and a lengthy process of negotiations began. More than 96.6% of Gibraltar residents voted to remain part of the EU.<\/p>\n

The territory\u2019s connections with Spain were totally cut off in 1969 when the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco ordered the land border to be closed<\/a> after Gibraltar approved a new constitution. Families were separated and thousands of Spaniards lost their jobs overnight. The border did not reopen until 1982.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain and Gibraltar are celebrating the fall of the last frontier fence in western Europe after the signing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-692870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}