In brief
Britain’s overseas territory of Gibraltar will abolish its border fences with neighbouring Spain on 15 July, following a post‑Brexit deal that places the Rock into the EU customs union and Schengen zone. The move will lift long queues that often stalled workers, shoppers and tourists and could boost Gibraltar’s economy as footfall rises. Local officials—Gibraltarian Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Spanish mayor Juan Franco—highlight the economic gains for both sides, while a new VAT‑like tax will apply to goods sold in Gibraltar. The change marks a new chapter in the tense history that has defined this peninsula for more than a century.
Every weekday morning a cyclist in La Línea de la Concepción crosses the short but formal border between Spain and Gibraltar to work in the British overseas territory. For over a century a fence and checkpoints have turned that simple trip into a daily queue that can take minutes, if not hours, for some 15,000 commuters.
The British Home Office and the EU signed a deal that will, from 15 July, remove the fence and place Gibraltar inside the EU customs union and Schengen free‑travel zone, effectively ending the 118‑year border and allowing people to move between the two sides without stopping for passports or customs checks.
“The fact that there is a border between us is ridiculous,” says worker Shilpi Chotrani, who rides her bike across the frontier every day. “All of those of us who live in La Línea think this is a great idea and should have been done a long time ago.”
La Línea’s mayor, Juan Franco, points out that roughly a third of the town’s business income comes from Gibraltar, arguing that the removal will lift economic pressure on a region that has a 30 % unemployment rate. “We have to realise that for an average company in this town a third of its income is from clients in Gibraltar,” he says.
Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo calls the move “a huge change” that will allow complete fluidity of people and goods and boost business footfall. He adds that under the new regime, all goods sold in Gibraltar must comply with EU regulations and a transaction tax will replace the old VAT‑free system, a shift that will require new paperwork for importers.
The breaking of the fence will therefore be a symbolic and practical step forward for a territory whose population voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU before the 2016 referendum, and which has long felt vulnerable to Spanish sovereignty claims. It also marks the end of a 13‑year Spanish blockade that began in 1969 and ended in 1982 after the dismissal of Franco.
