Portugal–Spain border

Portugal–Spain border
Portugal–Spain border
	Guadiana International Bridge, connecting Portugal and Spain
Characteristics
Entities	Portugal Spain
Length	1234 km (de facto)
History
Established	1143
Treaties	Treaty of Zamora (1143); Treaty of Badajoz (1267); Treaty of Alcañices (1297); Treaty of Badajoz (1801); Congress of Vienna (1815); Treaty of Lisbon (1864); Convention of Limits (1926);

The Portugal–Spain border, also referred to as "The Stripe", is one of the oldest geopolitical borders in the world. The current demarcation is almost identical to that defined in 1297 by the Treaty of Alcañices. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,234 km (767 mi) long, and is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union, being free of border control since March 26, 1995 (the effective date of the Schengen Agreement), with a few temporary exceptions, such as in the 2020 lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Treaty of Limits between Portugal and Spain was signed in Lisbon in 1864 and ratified in Madrid in 1866, leaving unsettled a southern stretch because of the Olivenza and the Moura strifes. A 1926 Convention of Limits ratified the southern end of the border, incorporating a 1893 agreement concerning Moura, while the lands of Olivenza were left without demarcation because of Portuguese reluctance to recognise Spanish sovereignty over the territory.

A microstate existed previously on the border called Couto Misto.