EU, UK sign Gibraltar status treaty easing border checks
The United Kingdom and the European Union on Tuesday formally signed a treaty on the status of Gibraltar, aimed at easing border crossings between Gibraltar and Spain and ending years of political uncertainty.
The treaty was signed in Brussels by European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic, British Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno, and Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.
Under the agreement, Gibraltar residents can cross into Spain using residence cards without needing to have their passports stamped. Spanish citizens, in turn, can cross the border using a government-issued ID card.
For those arriving at Gibraltar airport, passports will be checked by both Gibraltar and Spanish border officers. The UK has indicated it wants a system similar to that of French police operating at London's St Pancras railway station for Eurostar services.
This treaty follows an agreement reached last year and is intended to resolve the long-standing political uncertainty surrounding the British overseas territory. Gibraltar, a strategically important enclave at the southern tip of Spain, came under British control in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession.
