Every weekday morning, Shilpi Chotrani rides her bicycle from her home in the Spanish town of La Línea de la Concepción to Gibraltar. It's a short journey, but it means crossing an international border that has existed since 1908. That border is about to disappear.
From 15 July, Gibraltar is scheduled to remove its border controls with Spain, allowing freedom of movement between the British Overseas Territory and its neighbour. The move comes as part of a carefully negotiated agreement between the European Union and the UK following Brexit. Gibraltar, which shares a land border with the EU, posed a particular challenge after the UK's exit.
“Gibraltar to remove 118-year-old border controls with Spain from 15 July, boosting free movement.”
"The fact that there is a border between us is ridiculous," says Chotrani, who works in human resources for a Gibraltarian shipping and tourism company. "I don't think a fence should separate people from one place and another."
The removal is expected to deliver major economic benefits. Gibraltar has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, while La Línea de la Concepción is one of the most deprived parts of Spain, with unemployment close to 30%. Around 15,000 Spaniards cross the frontier to work in Gibraltar each day, often facing long queues during rush hours.
"This is going to be a great step forward, both for the Spanish side and the British side," says Chotrani. "All of those of us who live [in La Línea de la Concepción] think this is a great idea. This should have been done a long time ago."
Juan Franco, the mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, underlines the local economic dependence on Gibraltar. "You have to realise that for an average company in this town a third of its income is from clients in Gibraltar," he says. After a decade of uncertainty following the UK's vote to leave the EU, Franco believes "this solution to Brexit will end up having a positive effect for us".
Gibraltar, a territory of around 40,000 inhabitants perched at the southern tip of mainland western Europe, has a history of military battles, sovereignty disputes and a 13-year blockade imposed by Spain. The 118-year-old border fence has been a daily reality for commuters like Chotrani. But from July, that will change.
"This is something historic, we've had a border fence since 1908," says Franco. The removal is expected to facilitate the flow of people and possibly redress the economic imbalance between the two territories.
