Gibraltar and Spain end border checks in historic UK-EU treaty
Land border at ‘The Rock’ is eliminated, ending routine checks for thousands of daily cross-border travellers
A new era began between Spain and the tiny British territory of Gibraltar on Wednesday, as border checks that have long been a source of tension and frustration were finally lifted.
Several dozen people and vehicles crossed the border from Spain for the first time without undergoing customs checks a few minutes after midnight.
Several hundred people gathered for the occasion, waving Spanish flags, while Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, announced: “Europe is back”.
Gibraltar, a self-governing British territory at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, is home to only about 40,000 people but relies on some 15,500 workers who cross from Spain every day.
During rush hours, long lines often formed at the land border as documents are checked – especially during periods of tension between Britain and Spain, which claims sovereignty over the territory, known as “The Rock”.
But under an agreement reached between Brussels and London following Britain’s exit from the European Union in 2020, border controls have now been eliminated.