Spain tears down Gibraltar border barriers for first time in more than 300 years

Construction crews on the Spanish side of the Gibraltar frontier have begun demolishing border infrastructure.

Machine operators dismantled police auxiliary buildings at the crossing point this weekend, preparing for a completely frictionless land boundary that will come into effect on July 15.

The demolition work, captured on footage, took place just before Tuesday's 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum.

Scaffolding has also appeared around structures on the Gibraltar side, with removal expected to commence within days.

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The Royal Gibraltar Police checkpoint booths will likewise be taken down under the new post-Brexit arrangement.

Eventually, the wire fence marking the border across Gibraltar's isthmus will disappear entirely.

Under the new Brexit agreement, the land border between the British overseas territory and Spain will effectively cease to exist, allowing approximately 15,000 workers to cross daily without checks.

Border controls will instead relocate to Gibraltar's airport, where British visitors must first present passports to Gibraltar officials, then to Spanish guards, who will hold ultimate authority over entry to the territory.

Identical procedures will apply to those arriving by sea.

The arrangement essentially brings the Rock into the EU's Schengen border-free zone, representing a fundamental shift in how access to the British territory is managed.

The formal signing is expected on July 13 in Brussels, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič anticipated as signatories.

The border's removal marks a historic moment more than three hundred years after Anglo-Dutch forces captured the fortress of Gibraltar during a conflict with Spain.

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Following Britain's departure from the EU, the territory faced the prospect of becoming a hard external frontier of the bloc, echoing the closure experienced during Franco's dictatorship.

Daily passport inspections for the 15,000 cross-border workers would have proved economically devastating for the Rock.

Four years of negotiations between London and Brussels culminated in an agreement announced last June, with full details published this spring.

The European Council is expected to grant formal approval imminently.

The treaty represents the most significant accord on British Overseas Territories since the 1984 Hong Kong sovereignty agreement with China.

While sovereignty was not discussed during negotiations, the UK and Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo have accepted expanded Spanish influence over the territory.

Spain will now have veto power over Gibraltar's residency permit decisions, prompting a surge in applications as thousands seek to secure their status before the measure takes effect.

The Rock has also committed to aligning tobacco prices with those in Spain and introducing a VAT-style sales tax.

However, British citizens residing in Gibraltar will regain EU freedom of movement rights, allowing them to work across the bloc as though they were EU citizens, though not the pre-Brexit rights to live and study there.

Mr Picardo has described the first international accord on Gibraltar since the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as "truly historic", encouraging businesses to establish themselves in the "Campo de Gibraltar" region to create a "shared zone of prosperity".

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