Gibraltar border fence falls, ending checks for 15,000 daily workers
A new EU-UK treaty has dismantled the 1908 border fence between Spain and Gibraltar, eliminating customs checks to secure the daily flow of cross-border workers and boost the regional economy.
Spain and Gibraltar have dismantled the last frontier fence in western Europe following the signing of a post-Brexit treaty in Brussels. The agreement, which came into effect at midnight, eliminates border and customs checks that long hindered the movement of residents, tourists and workers. It concludes more than four years of negotiations between the UK, Spain, Gibraltar and the EU.
The shift carries immediate weight for the regional economy. Gibraltar is home to roughly 40,000 people but relies on 15,000 Spanish workers who cross into the British territory every day. The neighbouring Campo de Gibraltar region of Andalucía, home to 300,000 Andalucíans, is heavily dependent on this daily flow of labour and commerce.
Under the previous system, friction at the border created rush-hour queues that disrupted business and supply chains, particularly during periods of political tension. Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, noted the treaty provides exactly what local companies need. “Our economy will be given greater certainty and Gibraltar’s future will rest on firm legal foundations,” he said.
The deal essentially makes Gibraltar a de facto part of the EU’s Schengen free-movement area, with Spain taking responsibility for controls at the territory’s airport and port. This integration brings new logistical requirements, as British nationals flying in will face the bloc’s new entry/exit system, which involves fingerprint and facial scans. The rollout of that biometric system has already caused severe delays at some European airports. Picardo said this week that he shares those logistical concerns. “I am concerned [similar queues] could happen,” he said.
The physical barrier, which stood since 1908, has been a persistent sore in Spanish-British relations since Gibraltar was ceded to the British crown in 1713. Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, framed the removal as a definitive economic reset. “This is a historic agreement, an agreement for the future, which represents a huge leap forward in terms of stability and prosperity,” he said.
The treaty preserves Gibraltar’s British sovereignty, bypassing the heated joint-sovereignty discussions that followed the 2016 Brexit referendum. Picardo emphasized that the territory reached this point “without surrendering who we are, without compromising our British sovereignty and without weakening the constitutional protections that define Gibraltar.”
European commissioner Maroš Šefčovič toasted the end of an era, citing “shared prosperity and no more barrier for the 15,000 people crossing between Spain and Gibraltar daily.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is expected to witness the removal of the final fence section in La Línea de la Concepción on Wednesday.
