Gibraltar and Spain scrap border checks after decades of tension
Several hundred people gathered for the occasion, waving Spanish flags, as Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, declared: "Europe is back."
An AFP journalist at the frontier reported that several dozen people and vehicles crossed the border from Spain for the first time without undergoing customs checks, just minutes after midnight.
Gibraltar, a self-governing British territory at the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula, is home to only around 40,000 people, but relies on some 15,500 workers who cross from Spain every day.
During rush hours, long queues have often formed at the land border as documents are checked, particularly during periods of tension between Britain and Spain, which claims sovereignty over the territory, known as "The Rock".
However, under an agreement reached between Brussels and London following Britain's exit from the European Union in 2020, border controls have now been scrapped.
The 149-point treaty was signed on Tuesday in Brussels. A view of Gibraltar as seen from La Linea, Spain, on Thursday March 25, 2021.
EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic took part in the signing ceremony alongside British and Spanish ministers, as well as Gibraltar's Picardo.
In a radio interview beforehand, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the agreement "opens a new era" for Gibraltar and the adjoining region of Spain, which would create "enormous opportunities".
'Very positive'
A smoother border will make it easier for Gibraltar businesses to recruit and retain workers who live in Spain, as the "hassle" of crossing the frontier can be "significant", said Owen Smith, head of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses.
"It's been a big factor in retention, and certainly a fluid border is going to make life much easier," he told AFP, calling it "very, very positive".
The agreement will align Gibraltar with the rules of Europe's passport-free Schengen travel area.
According to a European Parliament briefing, the agreement integrates Gibraltar into the Schengen area and provides for a customs union.
While the physical border controls with Spain are eliminated, it boosts Gibraltar's economic links with Spain and the EU, introducing dual border checks at Gibraltar's port and airport. It also allows for direct flight connections between Gibraltar and the EU, according to the document.
The deal was reached after years of talks between Spain, Britain and the EU.
Gibraltar dodges Brexit chaos in 11th-hour deal with Spain and Britain, joins Schengen zone
Travellers arriving from outside the Schengen zone will still have to show their passports to officials at Gibraltar's airport and port.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to visit the frontier zone on Wednesday, where workers have in recent weeks taken down the old chain-link fencing separating the two sides.
He has hailed the new arrangements as bringing down "the last wall" inside the EU, saying they would create a zone of shared prosperity.
Picardo has described the agreement as removing "the physical barriers of a bygone era of friction", while keeping "the keys to our own front door".
Sword of Damocles
The border was closed by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1969, after Gibraltar, which relies on London for defence and foreign policy, voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to remain British.
The closure, which lasted 13 years, cut off the daily movement of workers from Spain into Gibraltar and separated families.
Since then, long queues have repeatedly formed at the Gibraltar-Spain border whenever diplomatic tensions over the territory's sovereignty have led to tighter controls by Spain.
"It is important that this sword of Damocles disappears," said Manuel Triano Paulete, secretary general of the CCOO trade union in Spain's Campo de Gibraltar region, which surrounds the British territory, adding that cross-border workers had often not known how long it would take them to get to work.
With an economy based on financial services and online gaming, Gibraltar, which covers just under seven square kilometres, has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
It has long been a lifeline for people living in Campo de Gibraltar, which has historically had one of Spain's highest unemployment rates.
London and Madrid have disputed control of Gibraltar since the tiny territory was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.
(With newswires)