Gibraltar set to scrap 118-year-old border with Spain in post-Brexit breakthrough
Image: BBC News
Every weekday, Shilpi Chotrani cycles from her home in Spain to work in Gibraltar — a short ride made long by an international border. From 15 July, that frontier is set to disappear.
The British Overseas Territory of around 40,000 people shares a land border with Spain that has meant queues for the 15,000 Spaniards who cross daily for work. "The fact that there is a border between us is ridiculous," Chotrani says. "I don't think a fence should separate people."
The change is the product of a carefully negotiated agreement between the EU and the UK after Brexit — Gibraltar's unique status as an EU-adjacent British territory made it one of the trickiest loose ends of the divorce.
Why it matters: For commuters it ends a daily ordeal. For the wider region it could be transformative. Gibraltar enjoys one of the world's highest per-capita incomes, while neighbouring La Línea de la Concepción is among Spain's most deprived areas, with unemployment near 30%. Free movement is expected to ease that imbalance and knit the two economies closer.
The Rock has seen battles, sovereignty disputes and a 13-year Spanish blockade. The border itself dates back 118 years — so its removal is, as Chotrani puts it, "something that should have been done a long time ago."
Not everyone is untroubled: questions remain about how frontier checks, security and the movement of goods will actually work once the fence comes down.
What's next: All eyes are on 15 July. If the rollout holds, a century-old line on the map could finally fade — a rare post-Brexit story with winners on both sides.