A near decade after the referendum, Gibraltar’s long-awaited Brexit deal has been backed by EU member states but the removal of the border at Spain’s La Línea has been delayed until summer.
EU member states have unanimously backed Gibraltar’s long-awaited Brexit deal but the removal of the border at La Línea de la Concepción will be delayed by three months.
The removal of the hard border was supposed to coincide with the rollout of the EU’s new Schengen Entry/ Exit system in April but has now been postponed until summer, with transitionary “bridging” measures continuing until then.
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This comes as Brussels and European capitals backed the overseas territory’s post-Brexit deal overall.
On Wednesday, the 27 EU member states unanimously backed the signing and provisional application of the agreement between the EU and the UK, which redefines the EU’s relationship with Gibraltar.
However, the deal will now formally come into force on 15th July, some three months later than the timetable initially planned by Brussels and London.
The political endorsement by EU member states came on Wednesday at a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels, as confirmed in a statement by the Council. European sources confirmed to Europa Press that no country opposed the agreement and it was agreed unanimously.
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However, the agreement in principle still requires formal adoption by institutions for the signing and provisional application to take effect, which will take at least two months to allow for the legal and linguistic reviews of the treaty texts, which then must be translated into all EU languages.
The agreement among other measures aims to remove “all physical barriers to the movement of people and goods between Spain and Gibraltar, whilst fully safeguarding the Schengen area, the EU single market and its customs union,” the council notes in a statement.
The July implementation date, although delayed, will finally put an end to the legal limbo that has gripped The Rock since the referendum vote almost a decade ago.
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For now, a bulletin by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation confirms the delay and that so-called border “bridging” arrangements will continue until the July 15th implementation date: “The UK/EU Agreement over Gibraltar is now expected to enter into provisional application on the 15th July.
This means bridging measures at the frontier will continue. All Gibraltar residents will be able to carry on crossing into Spain as at the moment, without being subject to the Schengen Entry/ Exit system, which comes into force on the 10th of April.”
Importantly, it reiterates: “The 10th of April deadline will not be felt at the Gibraltar/La Línea frontier and has now been pushed back three months.”
Gibraltar, a British overseas territory, voted overwhelmingly in the 2016 referendum to remain in the EU but has existed in legal limbo ever since.
The Rock’s post-Brexit status was not covered by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, signed back in 2020.
Following the finalisation of the political agreement in June 2025 between Commissioner Šefčovič and Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, with Gibraltar Chief Minister Picardo and the then UK Foreign secretary David Lammy, the final legal text was drafted in December.
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