Spain and UK open new chapter as Gibraltar treaty takes effect and border fence falls
The treaty between the European Union and the United Kingdom over Gibraltar entered provisional application in the early hours of Wednesday. The agreement, signed in Brussels, brought the dismantling of the fence that had separated the British territory from the Spanish municipality of La Línea de la Concepción since the early twentieth century.
Spain and the United Kingdom are seeking to elevate to a strategic level a bilateral relationship shaped for decades by the Gibraltar dispute. The treaty, signed on Tuesday in Brussels, entered provisional application in the early hours of Wednesday.
The agreement's most tangible result was the dismantling of the fence that had separated the British territory of Gibraltar from the Spanish municipality of La Línea de la Concepción since the early twentieth century. For residents of the area, this means the border will no longer be an obstacle in daily life.
Officials said the treaty would usher in a new era of both security and economic cooperation. The agreement also lays the groundwork for Gibraltar's integration into the European Union's Schengen area.
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