Gibraltar & The Treaty — The Reading RoomGibraltar and the treaty, in plain wordsLaws and proposals that the texts read show reaching one of Gibraltar's routes. The date of the last update is shown below.
The English texts come from the official English versions published by the European Union (EU) on EUR-Lex, the United Kingdom (UK) on GOV.UK and UK Parliament, and Gibraltar (the Acts and legal notices that change Gibraltar's law for the treaty, from Gibraltar Laws and the Gibraltar Gazette, and Gibraltar Parliament records: Hansard, Bills and Command Papers), plus HM Government of Gibraltar and European Commission press releases where a statement is quoted. Where a text exists only in Spanish (BOE), we quote it in Spanish and say so, and any translation beside it is ours.
What changes, and when. These are the dates ahead, soonest first, and then the dates already running or ended. Each line is the same line as on its own page: open it for the full entry.
Sorted on 30 October 2026.
Tobacco (Amendment) Bill 2026 in Gibraltar: Bill B. 27/26
Cannot be taken further before 14 November 2026
The Bill would change Gibraltar's own tobacco law: how many cigarettes count as a commercial quantity, which needs permits and licences, the conditions on retail sales, who decides on tobacco licences, and some reporting duties. Under 's tobacco rules, the and the , are to share information on efforts against fraud and smuggling in Gibraltar, including the laws adopted for that purpose. The Bill's explanatory memorandum says it is in keeping with the treaty.The UK, for GibraltarThe treaty's second side is the United Kingdom (UK) acting for Gibraltar. The treaty's own words are “the United Kingdom, in respect of Gibraltar”.The EUThe European Union (EU). The treaty also names the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), a separate body run alongside it.The treatyThe Agreement in respect of Gibraltar between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part. It was signed in Brussels on 14 July 2026.
EU code for medicinal products for human use: Commission communication COM(2026) 526 final
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 23 November 2026
The treaty's exception for medicines lets the UK, for Gibraltar, allow medicines authorised in the UK on the Gibraltar market if all its conditions are met. It defines those medicines by the EU's 2001 medicines code, which this directive would repeal. The treaty reads that reference as including an act that replaces the code, so the definition the exception uses could change. The treaty's goods rule requires goods produced or put on the market in Gibraltar to meet the relevant EU rules; whether the new directive counts among them is not settled.
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 23 November 2026
Declarations of conformity and CE marking under the thirteen EU product directives this proposal amends are rules on putting goods on the market. That is the subject of the treaty's goods rule, which requires goods produced or put on the market in Gibraltar to meet the relevant EU rules. The treaty's list of EU rules for Gibraltar also names product rules.
EU digitalisation of obligations in product regulations: Commission proposal COM(2025) 504 final
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 23 November 2026
This proposal changes what makers and importers must draw up, give or show with some products, such as personal protective equipment, gas appliances, machinery and batteries: the EU declaration that the product meets the rules would be drawn up only in electronic form, a digital contact would be added to the postal address, and instructions could be given in electronic form. The treaty's goods rule, which requires goods produced or put on the market in Gibraltar to meet the relevant EU rules, covers EU rules on producing goods or putting them on the market. The treaty's list of EU rules for Gibraltar includes EU product rules. The proposal also adds common specifications to the EU rules on accreditation of the bodies that check products; whether that part counts among the relevant EU rules the texts read do not say.
EU simplification of food, feed and plant protection rules: Commission proposal COM(2025) 1030 final
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 23 November 2026
This proposal changes EU rules on food, feed, plant protection products, biocides, pesticide residues and official controls, including the checks on plants and plant products at the EU's border control posts. The treaty's goods rule, which requires goods produced or put on the market in Gibraltar to meet the relevant EU rules, covers EU rules on producing goods or putting them on the market. The treaty's list of EU rules for Gibraltar names sanitary and phytosanitary measures. Once the treaty applies, and until the 's decision on the EU customs and goods rules enters into force, goods from the UK cleared for Gibraltar at a designated customs post are cleared under the EU rules that would apply in the EU, including product rules and sanitary and phytosanitary measures; the sanitary and phytosanitary checks are carried out where the goods first enter the EU, when EU law requires them. Whether this proposal, or which parts of it, count among the relevant EU rules under the goods rule the texts read do not say.Cooperation CouncilThe treaty's top joint body: representatives of the European Union (EU) and of the United Kingdom (UK) acting for Gibraltar, with Gibraltar's nominees beside the UK Minister under the Concordat. It watches over the treaty and takes the decisions the treaty leaves to it.
European Biotech Act: Commission proposal COM(2025) 1022 final
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 14 December 2026
This proposal would set an EU framework for health biotechnology and change EU rules on products and procedures in food law, medicines for human use, veterinary medicines and substances of human origin. The treaty's goods rule, which requires goods produced or put on the market in Gibraltar to meet the relevant EU rules, covers EU rules on producing goods or putting them on the market, and the treaty's list of EU rules for Gibraltar includes EU product rules. Whether this proposal, or which parts of it, count among those rules the texts read do not say. Its rule on certain biotechnology products of concern would limit supplying them to people and bodies with a legitimate need, inside or outside the EU.
EU simplification of medical device rules: Commission proposal COM(2025) 1023 final
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 14 December 2026
The treaty uses the EU's 2017 regulations on medical devices and on in vitro diagnostic medical devices to define which devices fall under one of its exceptions. That exception lets the UK, for Gibraltar, allow the import of such devices into Gibraltar, but only if conditions the treaty sets are met. This proposal amends both regulations, including the definitions the treaty points to.
EU simplification of rules on batteries: Commission proposal COM(2025) 981 final
Indicative European Parliament plenary date (Legislative Observatory forecast) 14 December 2026
This proposal would change EU rules that batteries must meet, on what the label must show and on removing and replacing batteries in light means of transport, and would widen who counts as a battery producer. Under the treaty's goods rule, goods produced or put on the market in Gibraltar must meet the relevant EU rules, and the EU product rules the treaty lists name chemicals and waste. Gibraltar's Environment (Waste) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, which the Government of Gibraltar made for the purposes of carrying out the treaty's environment rule, refer to the EU batteries rules as amended from time to time and make breaches of the EU labelling and removability rules for batteries offences.
Coming31 December 2026: UK access for Gibraltar financial services (may be extended)
Firms may passport between the UK and Gibraltar under a transitional arrangement until 31 December 2026. The regulator says this date may be extended while the permanent Gibraltar Authorisation Regime is arranged. Our copy of the page was last updated on 19/12/2025, so check the date before you rely on it. This is a UK arrangement, not part of the treaty. Q15: What stays the same (tax, law, services, financial services, sovereignty, laws and courts)
Done
The United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) signed the treaty in Brussels.
Applies now
The treaty began to apply provisionally at midnight at the end of 14 July 2026. For the treaty's own references to "entry into force", Article 336(4) reads them as this date.
Applies now
The standard rate is 15% in year 1, 16% in year 2, and after 24 months 17% or the lowest rate any EU country applies at that time. The years count from the entry into force, which Article 336(4) reads as 15 July 2026. No official text we hold writes the calendar days on which the rate changes, so none is given here.
Period ended
Certified retail and wholesale businesses could deduct from their assessable profits the difference between the Transaction Tax paid and the import duty that would otherwise have been payable, where the tax is higher, in the 90 days that begin on the Implementation Date; the deduction is capped at 50% of the tax paid in the previous period. Food, drink and grocery, tobacco, wine and spirits, fuel and vehicle businesses are excluded. A business also had to be up to date with its tax, PAYE and social insurance on 15 July 2026, or become so within 30 days with the written approval of the Commissioner of Income Tax, and every deduction has to meet the de minimis state aid rules. The Government's release says that period ends on 12 October 2026. The Minister may extend it by a further 90 days by Gazette notice. We hold no extension notice, so we cannot say whether one was made.
Grace period
The treaty rules (transit, Transaction Tax, EU standards) do not apply to goods whose movement to Gibraltar started before the entry into force and ended after it. This lasts 2 months, after which the goods may be sold only if they comply with EU standards. The Consolidated FAQ counts from 15 July 2026 and says the operator must prove the movement started earlier. Counted from 15 July 2026 the 2 months have ended; no official text we hold writes the calendar day.
Grace period
Goods that were in a bonded warehouse before the start may stay under the old Gibraltar law if they are discharged within 2 months after 15 July 2026. Temporary storage must end within 30 days of the goods being placed in it. The treaty applies to the release for free circulation and to any re-export. Counted from 15 July 2026 the 2 months have ended; no official text we hold writes the calendar day.
Grace period
Goods already on the market in Gibraltar before the start need not meet EU standards for 3 months after the entry into force, and after that cannot be sold if they do not. An import-duty exemption certificate keeps its effect for its own duration or 3 months after the entry into force, whichever is earlier. The notice was issued on 2 February 2026 before the treaty text; it counted from 10 April 2026, then the expected date. Article 336(4) reads "entry into force" as 15 July 2026, and counted from that day the 3 months have ended, but no official text we hold says so or writes the day.
Applies now
Residence permits issued by the UK for Gibraltar before the treaty started stay valid for two calendar years after that date or until their own expiry, whichever comes first (Article 52(1)). Counted from 15 July 2026 (Article 336(4)), the two years end in July 2028 (worked out, not written in any official text we hold, which gives no day).
Applies now
Goods in a traveller's luggage are free of duty and indirect tax up to EUR 430 by air or sea, EUR 300 by land, EUR 175 for under-15s. The Government's FAQ says these thresholds apply during the first 3 years and then stop applying to movements from the EU into Gibraltar. The treaty's own text ties the allowances to the Cooperation Council decision under Article 247(1) (Article 267), and we hold no text that reconciles the two. No calendar day is given.
Applies now
Persons resident in Gibraltar are exempt from the Entry/Exit System (EES), no entry or exit stamp goes in their travel documents, and they do not need an ETIAS travel authorisation. The Government's notice, written for holders of Gibraltar identity cards and civilian registration cards, says the exemption applies at all Schengen external borders and that a registration made on the EES after 15 July 2026 should not have been required. No official text we hold gives a start date for EES or ETIAS for visitors, so none is given.
Applies now
The Residency Regulations 2026 (Legal Notice 166 of 2026) came into operation on 14 July 2026, the day before the treaty began to apply.
Applies now
The TGEU Implementation (Frontier Workers) Regulations 2026 (Legal Notice 2026/319) began on 13 August 2026.
An entry is listed only if the texts read show that it reaches one of Gibraltar's routes: goods coming from the UK; goods coming from Spain or the rest of the EU under the customs union; the frontier with Spain; the airport (flights to and from the UK); the port (crew changes, ship calls, bunkering and ship services); Gibraltar's own businesses, including services; residents' rights. Each entry says which route it reaches, what it is, who handles it, where it stands and when, and links to the document. The line on what would change comes only from the document's title. Where the title does not say, the line says so. Read the linked document before relying on the line. This page is not advice.
Last updated: 6 October 2026. 13 entries.
Route: Gibraltar's own businesses, including services.
What it is: Commission proposal. Who handles it: European Commission. Stage: Proposed by the Commission. Date: 9 September 2026.
What would change: Not law unless adopted. The title says: "repealing Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, and amending Regulations (EC) No 1370/2007, (EU) 2023/1542, (EU) 2024/1157, (EU) 2024/1252, (EU) 2024/1735, (EU) 2024/1781, (EU) 2024/2847, (EU) 2024/3110 and (EU) 2025/40, and Directives 2008/98/EC, (EU) 2019/882, (EU) 2022/2381, (EU) 2023/1791 and (EU) 2024/1760 (Public Procurement Act)"
Route: goods coming from the UK.
What it is: European Parliament procedure: ordinary legislative procedure. Who handles it: European Parliament (Lead: Public Health; Other committees: Budgets, Internal Market and Consumer Protection). Stage: Amendments tabled in committee (first reading). Date: 28 July 2026.
What would change: The title says: "Amending Regulations (EU) 2017/745 and (EU) 2017/746 as regards simplifying and reducing the burden of the rules on medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, and amending Regulation (EU) 2022/123 as regards the support of the European Medicines Agency for the expert panels on medical devices and Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 as regards the list of Union harmonisation legislation referred to in its Annex I"
Route: Gibraltar's own businesses, including services; residents' rights.
What it is: European Parliament procedure: ordinary legislative procedure. Who handles it: European Parliament (Lead: Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Industry, Research and Energy; Other committees: Legal Affairs, Internal Market and Consumer Protection). Stage: Amendments tabled in committee (first reading). Date: 27 July 2026.
What would change: The title says: "Amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2018/1724, (EU) 2018/1725, (EU) 2023/2854 and Directives 2002/58/EC, (EU) 2022/2555 and (EU) 2022/2557 as regards the simplification of the digital legislative framework, and repealing Regulations (EU) 2018/1807, (EU) 2019/1150, (EU) 2022/868, and Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (Digital Omnibus)"
Route: goods coming from the UK.
What it is: European Parliament procedure: ordinary legislative procedure. Who handles it: European Parliament (Lead: Environment, Climate and Food Safety, Internal Market and Consumer Protection; Other committees: Agriculture and Rural Development). Stage: The committee approved the provisional agreement (first reading). Date: 14 July 2026.
What would change: The title says: "Amending Regulations (EC) No 1272/2008, (EC) No 1223/2009 and (EU) 2019/1009 as regards simplification of certain requirements and procedures for chemical products"
Route: residents' rights.
What it is: Legal text published in the BOE. Who handles it: Spain, in the BOE (Sección 1). Stage: Published in the BOE. Date: 18 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the arrangement is about the protocol on social security coordination. It does not say what would change.
Route: the frontier with Spain.
What it is: Legal text published in the BOE. Who handles it: Spain, in the BOE (Sección 1). Stage: Published in the BOE. Date: 18 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the arrangement is about the movement of certain categories of persons and goods. It does not say what would change.
Route: the frontier with Spain.
What it is: Legal text published in the BOE. Who handles it: Spain, in the BOE (Sección 1). Stage: Published in the BOE. Date: 18 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the arrangement is on "aplicación" (in English, application or implementation), without saying of what. It does not say what would change.
Route: goods coming from the UK; goods coming from Spain or the rest of the EU under the customs union.
What it is: Legal text published in the BOE. Who handles it: Spain, in the BOE (Sección 1). Stage: Published in the BOE. Date: 18 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the arrangement is about customs. It does not say what would change.
Route: the frontier with Spain.
What it is: Legal text published in the BOE. Who handles it: Spain, in the BOE (Sección 1). Stage: Published in the BOE. Date: 18 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the arrangement is about continued surveillance and uninterrupted pursuit. It does not say what would change.
Route: the airport (flights to and from the UK); the port (crew changes, ship calls, bunkering and ship services).
What it is: Legal text published in the BOE. Who handles it: Spain, in the BOE (Sección 1). Stage: Published in the BOE. Date: 18 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the arrangement sets out how Schengen border checks and border surveillance will be carried out. It does not say how.
Route: goods coming from the UK; goods coming from Spain or the rest of the EU under the customs union; the frontier with Spain; the airport (flights to and from the UK); the port (crew changes, ship calls, bunkering and ship services); Gibraltar's own businesses, including services; residents' rights.
What it is: Bill (Gibraltar). Who handles it: Gibraltar Parliament. Stage: Became Gibraltar's 2026 Act that brings the treaty into Gibraltar law: passed by the Gibraltar Parliament on 31 March 2026, given assent on 1 April 2026 and in force in stages, the last parts from 15 July 2026. Date: 1 April 2026.
What would change: The title gives only the Bill's name. It does not say what would change.
Route: goods coming from the UK; goods coming from Spain or the rest of the EU under the customs union; the frontier with Spain; the airport (flights to and from the UK); the port (crew changes, ship calls, bunkering and ship services); Gibraltar's own businesses, including services; residents' rights.
What it is: International agreement. Who handles it: EU institutions. Stage: Signed on 14 July 2026. The EU's decision on signing it provides for it to apply provisionally from 15 July 2026, once the treaty's conditions for that are met, and on 16 July 2026 the UK Government told its Parliament that provisional application began on 15 July 2026. Date: 15 July 2026.
What would change: The title gives only the treaty's name and its parties. It does not say what would change.
Route: the frontier with Spain; residents' rights.
What it is: Notice. Who handles it: EU institutions. Stage: Published. Date: 10 July 2026.
What would change: The title says only that the list of residence permits under the Schengen Borders Code is updated. It does not say what the update changes.
Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Fuente: BOE (www.boe.es) y Congreso de los Diputados (www.congreso.es), reutilización según sus avisos legales.
Source: EUR-Lex, https://eur-lex.europa.eu, © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
Source: European Parliament open data portal, https://data.europarl.europa.eu, © European Union.
Source: Gibraltar Parliament, https://www.parliament.gi.
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