SPANISH prime minister Pedro Sanchez has scheduled a visit to the Gibraltar border to mark its historic elimination.
He will travel to La Linea de la Concepcion alongside Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Monday, July 13, according to reports in the Spanish press.
The institutional visit coincides with the signing of a long-awaited treaty between the European Union and the UK in Brussels.
This agreement will de facto integrate the British territory into the Schengen area.
Just 48 hours later, on Wednesday, July 15, the land border will officially cease to function under the current system.
The physical barrier will disappear to make way for a new model of free movement for thousands of cross-border workers and expats.
Schengen passport checks will be relocated to Gibraltar airport, where the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System (SES) will be installed.
This system will record the fingerprints, facial recognition and personal data of travellers arriving from outside the EU bloc.
In a complex technical arrangement, the Policia Nacional will operate the system at the airport with initial support from Frontex.
They will share physical space with Gibraltarian border police, but will not share databases or IT infrastructure.
A highly protected fibre optic cable has been extended from the Policia Nacional station in La Linea to the airport to connect the machines to European servers.
A backup satellite connection has also been established in case of physical sabotage to the cabling.
Meanwhile, ferry connections between the Rock and Morocco have been suspended to avoid the need for Schengen controls at the Gibraltar port.
It remains unclear if any British representatives will attend the border ceremony.
The recent resignation of UK prime minister Keir Starmer has left the government in a caretaker capacity while the Labour Party chooses a successor.
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