{"id":372598,"date":"2025-08-25T15:13:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/372598\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T15:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:13:10","slug":"gibraltar-spain-border-to-vanish-in-2026-under-post-brexit-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/372598\/","title":{"rendered":"Gibraltar-Spain border to vanish in 2026 under post-Brexit deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nThe 1.2km fence dividing Spain and Gibraltar is expected to be dismantled in January 2026, scrapping daily checks for the 15,000 frontier workers who cross into the Rock from Spain,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>El Pa\u00eds<\/strong>\u00a0reported.<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\nDubbed \u201cthe last wall in Western Europe\u201d by Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares, the frontier\u2019s removal is the centrepiece of a broader post-Brexit deal reached in June between London, Brussels, and Madrid.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe dismantling of la Verja (the fence), which separates Gibraltar from the Spanish town of La L\u00ednea de la Concepci\u00f3n in C\u00e1diz province, still requires a draft accord to be finalised and approved by the European Commission. Albares announced<\/a> the text would be \u201cfully drafted by autumn.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe agreement will scrap ID checks for the 15,000 frontier workers residing in Spain who cross daily into the Rock, as it is informally known, which is crucial for the exclave’s economy.\n<\/p>\n

\nDual Spanish\/Schengen and British passport controls will remain in Gibraltar’s port and airports.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe deal also removes checks on goods circulating between both territories and lays the foundation for future trade, security, and fiscal cooperation between the EU, Spanish and Gibraltar authorities.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn Madrid, the government\u00a0saw<\/a> the deal as a historic agreement to “guarantee the future prosperity of the entire region. The opposition, meanwhile, condemned it as a political sell-out and a relinquishment of Spain’s territorial claims over the disputed enclave.\n<\/p>\n

\nSpain’s centre-right Popular Party “will not cease to demand sovereignty over Gibraltar,” said<\/a> party leader, Alberto N\u00fa\u00f1ez Feij\u00f3o, adding that any agreement on Gibraltar “must be backed by parliament.”\n<\/p>\n

\nSpain ceded Gibraltar to the British in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht, and has regularly attempted to regain control of the territory, first by military means and then through diplomacy.\n<\/p>\n

\nIn a 2002 referendum, however, almost 99% of Gibraltarians voted<\/a> against any deal involving shared sovereignty with Spain.\n<\/p>\n

\nAfter the summer recess, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez will kick off his agenda with a visit to London to meet bilaterally with UK Premier Keir Starmer, in which Gibraltar is expected to be at the heart of talks.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe foreign ministry and the PP did not reply to Euractiv’s request for comment at the time of publication.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

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