A historic agreement has been reached between the UK and Spain about Gibraltar’s future. This resolves the long-running conflict over the territory following Brexit and facilitates travel for both people and commerce across the Spanish border.
The Spanish foreign minister said the deal broke “the last wall” on the continent, while the Foreign Office stated that it “resolves the last major unresolved issue from Brexit.”
The agreement will remove restrictions on individuals and products crossing the land border between Spain and Gibraltar and implement dual passport checks similar to those seen at Eurostar at Gibraltar’s airport.
The Foreign Office stated that the agreement had a clause that was accepted by all parties and that it has no bearing on Britain’s sovereignty over Gibraltar.
Gibraltar’s British military installations will continue to function independently. It will, however, apply Schengen regulations to British visitors who are not Gibraltar residents. This implies that if they have already spent 90 days of the 180 days in the Schengen area, they may be denied entry at the border.
The agreement is “a practical solution after years of uncertainty,” according to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who also stated that the UK’s commitment to Gibraltar “remains as solid as the Rock itself.”
In posts on Bluesky and X, Gibraltar officials, earlier in the day, Lammy, Picardo, and Albares announced the agreement in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon.
The border has been the subject of intermittent discussions since Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union in 2020, which left Gibraltar without guaranteed freedom of movement and outside the EU customs union.
Thousands of labourers who reside in Spain but work in Gibraltar are among the 15,000 persons who are among the 15,000 persons who are thought to cross the land border each day.
Currently, Spanish nationals can cross with a government ID card, while Gibraltar residents can use residence cards without having their passports stamped.
The agreement attempts to stop new EU regulations from imposing a hard border. According to the agreement, passport checks will be conducted at Gibraltar’s port and airport by British and Spanish border officials.
This will be similar to the procedure used by Eurostar passengers at London’s St Pancras station, where they must pass through French and British passport control before boarding trains to the continent.
“With this agreement, the barrier will disappear. That’s the last wall on continental Europe, and we will guarantee free movement of persons and goods. Gibraltar will be linked to the Schengen area, and Spain will control entry and exit,” he said.
A plan to share sovereignty with Spain was rejected by 99 per cent of Gibraltar’s voters in a 2002 referendum.