MADRID (AP) 鈥� Thousands of people who travel every day between the southern tip of Spain and the will no longer have to cross a physical border, beginning on Wednesday.
The official opening at midnight on Tuesday, after a border fence was removed, allows a new freedom of movement under a historic treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom. It came after years of post-Brexit wrangling.
The contested British overseas territory of 38,000 people is perched at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, in a strategic location mere miles from Morocco where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.
Soon after midnight, crowds crossed freely between La L铆nea de Concepci贸n and Gibraltar in both directions. Many wore Spanish soccer jerseys after in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, adding to the celebratory mood.
鈥淲hat you feel here is the brotherhood between the two people,鈥� Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told Spanish broadcaster RTVE.
A deal that took years to realize
When Britain left the EU in 2020, the relationship between Gibraltar and the bloc had been left unresolved.
Previous talks on a deal to ensure people and goods could keep flowing across the border had made halting progress. In 2025, the EU and U.K. on those issues, with the two sides and Gibraltar鈥檚 government signing a treaty Tuesday that eases border crossings.
The U.K.鈥檚 Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty said Tuesday that the agreement secured Gibraltar鈥檚 long-term economic future and interests.
Maro拧 艩ef膷ovi膷, the EU鈥檚 trade representative, praised the agreement, too.
鈥淚t has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself,鈥� 艩ef膷ovi膷 said. 鈥淚t is a very special feeling to see a fence come down.鈥�
Without a deal, Gibraltar could have a faced a hard land border with full passport checks, posing economic risks for the territory deeply dependent on some 15,000 Spaniards 鈥� almost half Gibraltar鈥檚 workforce 鈥� who cross the frontier every day for work.
Mendez Segura, 51, crossed into Gibraltar from Spain on Wednesday for work, unused to the newfound freedom of movement.
鈥淚鈥檝e been crossing over and working in Gibraltar all my life with my identity card,鈥� the home care worker said. 鈥淚 know you鈥檒l be able to cross without it, but it鈥檚 just what I鈥檓 used to.鈥�
Leisure visits by people crossing both sides of the border would have been affected, too.
鈥淧eople who are visiting family in Spain, or whose Spanish family is visiting them in Gibraltar. Children who are going to football matches and extracurricular activities, either in Spain or in Gibraltar. They will be able to do that without having to worry about frontier queues,鈥� Picardo told The Associated Press in an interview.
The deal in effect brings the territory into the EU鈥檚 Schengen free travel area. At Gibraltar鈥檚 airport and port, entry and exit checks will be conducted by both U.K. and Spanish border officials. The arrangement is similar to what鈥檚 in place at Eurostar train stations in London and Paris, where both British and French officials check passports.
Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in 1713, but Spain has maintained its sovereignty claim ever since. Relations between the two countries on the issue of Gibraltar have had their ups and downs over the centuries. The treaty that removed the border fence doesn’t resolve the territory鈥檚 contested status.
In Britain鈥檚 , 96% of voters in the Rock, as the territory is popularly known in English, supported remaining in the EU.
Travelers to Gibraltar from countries outside the Schengen Area, including the U.K., will have to contend with the EU Entry-Exit System, or EES, which was and replaced passport stamps with biometric data collected through photographs and digital fingerprints.
Facial recognition cameras at the Rock
With the border fence gone, Gibraltar officials have set up live facial recognition cameras at entry points and throughout the territory.
Chief Minister Picardo said the territory will have many more closed-circuit television cameras and that it has increased its police presence as well as resources for customs and coast guard agencies.
鈥淭he fortress has become a digital fortress now,鈥� Picardo said.
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