LA LÍNEA DE LA CONCEPCIÓN — The border fence between Spain and Gibraltar was removed at midnight on Tuesday, following the signing of a new treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom that eliminates land border controls and integrates Gibraltar into the Schengen free-movement area. The treaty, which entered into force immediately upon its activation at midnight, ends 118 years of physical separation and ushers in a new era of cross-border cooperation between Gibraltar and Spain.

The treaty, signed in Brussels on Tuesday by EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, UK Minister for Europe Stephen Doughty, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, and Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, eliminates border controls and customs checks at the land frontier between Spain and Gibraltar. It formally brings Gibraltar into the EU’s Schengen area, allowing residents and visitors to move freely between the territory and the Schengen zone without routine passport inspections.

At the stroke of midnight, Picardo symbolically pulled down a section of the fence using a rope during a ceremony attended by officials and residents from both sides. He then crossed the frontier together with Juan José Franco, Mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, the Spanish town adjacent to Gibraltar. The fence had stood since 1908, marking one of Europe’s last remaining land barriers. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called it “the last wall in continental Europe” and said its removal “opens a new era of coexistence and shared prosperity.”

Under the agreement, Spain assumes responsibility for Schengen controls at Gibraltar’s airport and port, with British and Spanish border officials jointly conducting entry and exit checks. Travelers from outside the Schengen area—including those from the UK—must now pass through the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), which was rolled out across Europe in April 2026. The EES collects biometric data through photographs and digital fingerprints. Gibraltar has also installed live facial recognition cameras at entry points and throughout the territory, a shift Picardo described by saying, “The fortress has become a digital fortress now.”

For residents, daily life is set to change significantly. Approximately 15,000 Spanish workers cross into Gibraltar each day for employment, and the removal of queues is expected to ease commuting. Residents of Gibraltar can now cross into Spain using residence cards without receiving passport stamps, while Spanish citizens may enter Gibraltar using only a government-issued ID card. Picardo told the Associated Press that families and children participating in cross-border activities “will be able to do that without having to worry about frontier queues.” He also described the deal as introducing “complete and utter fluidity of people and goods” and predicted a boost in business footfall “not going to be restrained by a potential queue on the way in or frontier queue on the way out.”

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares hailed the deal as a “historic agreement,” stating, “We 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.” Sánchez emphasized the agreement’s focus on the 300,000 Andalucíans in the Campo de Gibraltar region and called it a new phase in UK-Spain relations. UK Minister for Europe Stephen Doughty called the signing “a very special moment,” while Šefčovič noted, “It has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself,” adding, “It is a very special feeling to see a fence come down.”

The treaty explicitly preserves Gibraltar’s status as a British Overseas Territory. Spain maintains its longstanding sovereignty claim over Gibraltar, which was ceded to the British crown under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, but the agreement does not affect Gibraltar’s British sovereignty. Picardo stressed that the deal was achieved “without surrendering who we are, without compromising our British sovereignty and without weakening the constitutional protections that define Gibraltar.” The treaty also safeguards the autonomous operation of UK military facilities in Gibraltar.

Local residents welcomed the change. Shilpi Chotrani, a human resources employee who lives in Spain and works in Gibraltar, said, “The fact that there is a border between us is ridiculous,” adding, “I don't think a fence should separate people from one place and another.” She called the development “a great step forward, both for the Spanish side and the British side.” La Línea Mayor Juan Franco underscored the economic stakes, noting that “for an average company in this town a third of its income is from clients in Gibraltar” and describing the fence’s removal as “something historic.” With unemployment in La Línea near 30%, the mayor said, “this solution to Brexit will end up having a positive effect for us.”

The new treaty resolves a long-standing post-Brexit uncertainty for Gibraltar, where 96% to 96.6% of residents voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum. The border had been a flashpoint for decades: Spanish dictator Francisco Franco closed it entirely in 1969, and it did not fully reopen until 1982. The elimination of physical and bureaucratic barriers after more than four years of negotiations between the UK, Spain, Gibraltar, and the EU marks a significant shift in regional integration, affecting daily life for tens of thousands and reshaping economic and security arrangements at a strategic location at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, just 8 to 9 miles from Morocco.

Critics, however, see the agreement as a step toward eventual shared sovereignty. José Manuel García-Margallo, former acting foreign minister of Spain, acknowledged “a complete change of outlook that opens up new possibilities on Gibraltar not seen for a very long time,” and expressed hope that “the formula of co-sovereignty – to be clear, the Spanish flag on the rock – is much closer than before.” Despite these views, the treaty’s immediate impact is the normalization of movement and trade for a population of roughly 38,000 to 40,000 in Gibraltar and the surrounding Spanish communities.