EU-GIBRALTAR CUSTOMS UNION
EU member states have approved the text of an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom covering Gibraltar, with provisional application expected to begin on 15 July 2026. The endorsement was given by the Committee of Permanent Representatives, the body of EU ambassadors, on 1 April 2026.
The agreement complements the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) of 2020, which does not extend to Gibraltar. Its principal objective is to remove physical barriers to the movement of persons and goods between Spain and Gibraltar, while preserving the Schengen area, the EU Single Market and the Customs Union.Under the new framework, immigration checks will take place at Gibraltar Airport rather than at the land border, and a customs union will be established between the EU and Gibraltar.
The texts will be formally adopted once legal and linguistic verification by the Council's lawyer-linguists is completed. European Parliament consent is also required before final ratification.
CLECAT welcomes the new agreement which, for the freight forwarding and logistics sector, by the removal of physical border checks between Spain and Gibraltar is a development of operational relevance.