Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has assured that the National Police will be “highly visible” at the entry checkpoints to the Schengen Area at the port and airport of Gibraltar “from day one.” He also expressed his hope that the Treaty on the future status of the Rock within the EU, the full text of which was published this Thursday by the European Commission, will be approved and ratified “a little before or a little after the summer.”
“It is a historic treaty because it changes the model of coexistence between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar region after more than three centuries,” Albares declared this Friday, February 27, during an interview on the TVE program ‘La Hora de la 1’.
This agreement, he continued, will allow the “free movement of people and goods” through the demolition of “all physical barriers, the main one being the fence,” and will help to “remove distortions and inequalities that have existed for many years.”
In short, it is the “final piece of the puzzle of the UK Withdrawal Agreement” and will open “new possibilities for relations between Spain and the United Kingdom” without Spain having to relinquish its sovereign aspirations in Gibraltar.
The controls
The Treaty establishes, among other measures, the removal of the fence and passport controls between the two territories and stipulates that Spanish authorities will assume Schengen controls at Gibraltar airport and port and will have the final say on the issuance and renewal of residence permits. Furthermore, it regulates the movement of goods through a system of harmonized controls and establishes that Spain will carry out customs controls on goods entering Gibraltar and that baggage checks will be implemented for travelers destined for the European Union and Gibraltar, in order to guarantee security and compliance with EU regulations.
In this regard, Albares assured that the National Police will carry out entry controls into the Schengen Area on their own and that, therefore, “there will be no Frontex there,” the European agency for the control of external borders, thus contradicting previous reports. “The National Police will be highly visible, as they are in any airport where they enforce Schengen regulations,” and they will be “from day one,” he declared. “If the Spanish Police are carrying out the controls, they will have to be where the controls are being carried out,” he insisted.
“There is absolutely no doubt about that, just as there is no doubt about who will carry out customs controls,” which, from now on, will be conducted in La Línea, Algeciras, and Sagunto, Albares affirmed, specifying that this was one of the issues that took “a long time to negotiate.”
Furthermore, the minister indicated that, since the agreement comes into effect, “there will be a tax similar to VAT, starting at 15 percent,” and that efforts will be made to achieve fiscal and environmental convergence within three years. He also assured that the airport will be open to commercial flights from the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, which will generate new economic activity. For the minister, all these steps are very positive for the 15,000 cross-border workers because “their working conditions are now equalized, and doors of possibility and economic opportunity that have been closed for more than three centuries are being opened.”
Entry into force
Regarding the entry into force of the Treaty, Albares expressed his confidence that, “a little before or a little after the summer, everything will be approved and ratified.” For now, he explained, “all Spanish parties in the European Parliament have been encouraged to do everything possible to expedite the process and vote.”
Furthermore, while awaiting submission of the text to the European Parliament for ratification, the European Commission “has requested the provisional application of the agreement as soon as it is approved by the Council.” “Therefore, that gives us an implementation date before the summer,” he added. As for Spain, he assured, “work has already begun this week” to proceed with the removal of the border fence and to adapt the necessary infrastructure.
The Agreement
On June 11, 2025, the European Union (represented by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares) and the United Kingdom (represented by the UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, and the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo) reached a “definitive” political agreement in Brussels on “the fundamental aspects of the future Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom concerning Gibraltar.”
Last December, negotiators from the European Union and the United Kingdom finalized the legal text of the treaty, and on February 17, the Commission announced its proposals for the signature, provisional application, and conclusion of the agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar. Once this step is completed, Brussels will forward these proposals to the Council, which will proceed with the necessary steps for the signature and conclusion of the agreement. Finally, the European Parliament will need to give its consent for ratification, in accordance with the EU treaties.
The Government of Gibraltar has already approved the Treaty for ratification, after which it will be submitted to the Gibraltarian Parliament for debate. Approval by the Gibraltarian Parliament will signal the United Kingdom to proceed with its own ratification procedures.
Once signed, and apart from any possible provisional application, the agreement will only enter into force one month after the parties have notified each other of the fulfillment of their respective requirements, including legal and parliamentary procedures. These requirements include the removal of physical barriers at the border and the implementation of the necessary infrastructure for the operation of border crossings at the port and airport of Gibraltar in accordance with the Schengen Code. In any case, it appears that it will not be able to enter into force before April 10, the day on which Spain will begin carrying out the new Schengen controls in Gibraltar under the recently activated EU Entry/Exit System (SES).