Workers symbolically remove an iron border gate between Spain and Gibraltar. The action in La Línea marks the dismantling of the border facilities.Image: keystone
July 15, 2026, 3:07 p.mJuly 15, 2026, 3:07 p.m
After more than a century, the border barrier between Spain and Gibraltar has had its day. Since midnight there have been no more border controls between the EU country and the British overseas territory. The dismantling of the symbolic, approximately one kilometer long iron fence, which was built in 1908, was ceremoniously initiated a few hours after the end of the inspections. The two main gates were the first to be dismantled.
British media described the move as the biggest change to Gibraltar’s status since it became part of Britain. It is ironic that Brexit of all things led to this, wrote the portal “Politico”.
The move was made possible by the agreement between the European Union and Great Britain agreed in February, which came into force on Wednesday. From now on, people and goods should be able to pass through the land crossing without the previous controls. Gibraltar is to be closely linked to the Schengen area and to new customs regulations with the EU. There will only be passport controls at the airport and port of Gibraltar.
Waiting times of several hours
The changes will particularly benefit the more than 15,000 cross-border commuters who travel daily between the structurally weak Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción in the Andalusian province of Cádiz and Gibraltar, primarily to work there. They often had to endure long waiting times at the border, especially during rush hour. The agreement is also intended to facilitate economic cooperation in the region.
The Spanish medical assistant Consuelo, who has been crossing the border for 30 years and working in Gibraltar, is very happy: “I sometimes had to wait three or four hours, and on some days even longer, up to seven hours. The torture is finally over,” she said on the TV channel RTVE.
People wait at the border between Spain and Gibraltar.Image: keystone
The dispute over sovereignty continues
Paradoxically, Brexit paved the way for the agreement. Although around 96 percent of Gibraltar’s 34,000 residents voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, the British overseas territory had to leave the union together with Great Britain.
After years of negotiations, those involved finally agreed on a compromise that would make border traffic easier, but without resolving the sovereignty dispute. Spain continues to view Gibraltar, at the southern tip of the country, as a “colony” and an illegally occupied territory.
“The agreement secures the long-term movement of people and goods across the border, while protecting the sovereignty of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar’s constitutional position,” said a spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
When the dictator closed the border
British media described the move as the biggest change to Gibraltar’s status since it became part of Britain. It is ironic that Brexit of all things led to this, wrote the portal “Politico”.
The dispute repeatedly led to tensions between Madrid and London. In 1969 the border was even closed by the dictator Francisco Franco. It was only reopened to pedestrians in 1982 and to vehicles three years later, a decade after the death of the Spanish tyrant.
The area, which is only 6.5 square kilometers in size – about the size of the East Frisian island of Baltrum – is known for its free-living Barbary macaques and the Rock of Gibraltar – and has been a bone of contention between Madrid and London for more than three centuries. It was taken over by Great Britain in 1704 and ceded by Spain in 1713 as part of the “Peace of Utrecht”. (sda/dpa)