Two months ago, the UK and Spain agreed in principle to remove the British Overseas Territory’s border checks by 2026.

In June, the European Union and Britain sealed a deal on the status of the territory of Gibraltar, in what was billed as a “historic” breakthrough five years after Brexit.

The deal seeks to ease the flow of people and goods over the Gibraltar-Spain border, and marks a new step in the much-vaunted “reset” of ties with Brussels under British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Around 15,000 people – over half of Gibraltar’s workforce, according to London – cross the land border between Spain and Gibraltar every day. The agreement will create a fluid border between Gibraltar and Spain, with no physical barriers or checks between the territory and the border town of La Linea.

People arriving by air or sea will still have to undergo dual border checks at Gibraltar port and airport, to be carried out by Gibraltar and Spanish officials.

On Monday, Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo told Spanish daily newspaper El País that all parties were working to implement the agreement as quickly as possible, with the legal text expected to be completed by October, with a view to removing border checks in January 2026.

Post-Brexit step

When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar – historically an important military base for Britain due to its position at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea – and the bloc remained unresolved.

Talks between London, Madrid, Brussels, and Gibraltar on a deal had made halting progress during several rounds of negotiations under Britain’s previous Conservative government, but Labour’s return to power last summer gave them new impetus.

The agreement was hailed as “a truly historic milestone” by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic, and
Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said it would bring “legal certainty to the people of Gibraltar, its businesses and to those across the region who rely on stability at the frontier.”

The deal, he added, “will protect future generations of British Gibraltarians and does not in any way affect our British sovereignty.”