Overview
- The EU and the UK formally signed the Gibraltar agreement and it took effect Wednesday, July 15, removing passport controls at the Spain–Gibraltar land border under Schengen procedures.
- Dozens of pedestrians and vehicles crossed without checks shortly after midnight and hundreds of residents gathered to mark the change.
- Passport checks will continue to apply for arrivals to Gibraltar by air and by sea, so the shift affects only the land crossing.
- The deal brings Gibraltar into closer customs and regulatory alignment with the EU and introduces new fiscal measures, including a transaction tax that will replace some previous import duties as implementation proceeds.
- The long-running sovereignty dispute between Spain and the UK remains unresolved even as the historic 1908 metal fence is set to be dismantled and local economies in La Línea and Gibraltar prepare for faster cross-border movement.