Brussels 14.07.2026 Today, the European Commission and the United Kingdom have signed the EU-UK Agreement in respect of Gibraltar. According to the European Commission, the newly signed agreement seeks to strengthen cooperation between Gibraltar and Spanish authorities while ensuring the protection of the Schengen area, the EU Single Market and the bloc’s Customs Union.
The commission said the agreement is designed to support the well-being of people across the region and foster closer, more constructive relations between the parties involved.
🇬🇧🤝🇪🇺 A new chapter for Gibraltar.
The signing of this agreement provides certainty for people and businesses, supports prosperity across the region, and protects Britain’s sovereignty and way of life.
Gibraltar remains an important part of the UK family. pic.twitter.com/hG3bVjQpQL
— Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) July 14, 2026
This Agreement, which will enter into provisional application on 15 July 2026, is the result of more than four years of negotiations and completes the legal framework of the relations between the EU and the United Kingdom following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU.
The Gibraltar delegation are back on the Rock following their historic trip to Brussels pic.twitter.com/E8mWJuK9dr
— GBC News (@GBCNewsroom) July 14, 2026
“Today marks a truly historic moment. I am proud to sign this Agreement with the United Kingdom on Gibraltar. It has taken four years of patient, complex negotiation, but the outcome speaks for itself: shared prosperity, closer cooperation, and no more barrier for some 15,000 people who cross between Spain and Gibraltar every single day. It is a very special feeling to see a fence come down. I now look forward to the successful implementation of this agreement” said Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency.
Britons will have their fingerprints taken to enter Gibraltar from midnight as new post-Brexit border controls come into force.@SimonCalder
Find out more about the new border and what it means for your next holiday 👇https://t.co/7W0u2FQN07 pic.twitter.com/vuva8ggImB
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 14, 2026
Gibraltar is not included in the scope of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, signed in 2020 and in force since 2021.
The main objective of this Agreement is to secure the future prosperity of the whole region. It will bring confidence and legal certainty to the lives and well-being of the people of the whole region.
It will promote shared prosperity and closer and more constructive relations between the Gibraltar and Spanish authorities, while fully safeguarding Schengen, the EU’s Single Market and its Customs Union.
Following the adoption of the proposal for the signing and provisional application of the EU-UK Agreement by the Council on 1 July, the Agreement was submitted to the European Parliament for its consent, in accordance with the EU treaties.
Once the Parliament’s consent is obtained, the Council can proceed with the adoption of its decision on conclusion of the Agreement.
Following a political agreement on key principles of the EU-UK Agreement in June 2025 between Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares with UK Foreign secretary Lammy and Gibraltar Chief Minister Picardo, the Commission adopted its proposals on the signing, provisional application and conclusion of the EU-UK Agreement in respect of Gibraltar in February this year.
