Thousands of workers crossing daily between Spain and Gibraltar will enter a new era of easier travel on Wednesday, as border checks that have long been a source of tension are lifted. Under an agreement reached between Brussels and London following Britain's exit from the European Union, border controls between Gibraltar and Spain will be eliminated from July 15. This change will align Gibraltar with the rules of Europe's passport-free Schengen travel area, making it easier for Gibraltar businesses to recruit and retain workers who live in Spain.
Home to only around 40,000 people, the tiny self-governing British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula relies on about 15,500 daily cross-border workers from Spain, who make up nearly half of its workforce. During rush hours, long lines can form at the land border, and documents are checked, especially during periods of tension between Britain and Spain, which claims sovereignty over Gibraltar.
Owen Smith, head of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses, said the smoother border will make it easier for businesses to recruit and retain workers, calling it'very, very positive.' The agreement was reached after years of talks between Spain, Britain, and the EU. Travellers arriving from outside the Schengen zone will still have to show their passports to officials at Gibraltar's airport and port.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to visit the frontier zone on Wednesday, where workers have in recent weeks taken down the old chain-link fencing between Gibraltar and Spain. He has hailed the new arrangements as bringing down 'the last wall' inside the EU, saying they would create a zone of shared prosperity. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has described the agreement as removing 'the physical barriers of a bygone era of friction' while keeping 'the keys to our own front door.'
The border was closed by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1969 after Gibraltar, which relies on London for defence and foreign policy, voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to remain British. The closure, which lasted 13 years, cut off the daily movement of workers from Spain into Gibraltar and separated families. Since then, long queues have repeatedly formed at the Gibraltar-Spain border when diplomatic tensions over the territory's sovereignty have led to tighter controls by Spain.
