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Spain lifts customs checks at Gibraltar border under post-Brexit deal
Gibraltar, home to about 40,000 people, relies on roughly 15,500 daily cross-border workers from Spain, with the change aimed at ending rush-hour document delays.
Spain has eliminated border customs checks with Gibraltar, allowing several dozen people and vehicles to cross without undergoing customs checks shortly after midnight on Wednesday, according to SCMP Economy. Several hundred people gathered for the occasion, and Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said, “Europe is back.”
The land border had previously been a flashpoint, with long lines often forming during rush hours as documents were checked, particularly during periods of tension between Britain and Spain over sovereignty of Gibraltar, known as “The Rock.”
Gibraltar has a population of about 40,000 but relies on about 15,500 workers who cross from Spain each day, making the removal of controls a direct operational shift for daily commuting.
SCMP Economy said the change follows an agreement reached between Brussels and London after Britain left the European Union in 2020, under which border controls between Spain and Gibraltar were eliminated.