Border control and surveillance systems (II)

The entente and opening between Spain and Portugal (as from 1974) and, later, the entry of both States into the European Union together with a change in people´s expectations and aspirations and a new global socio-economic context, have meant a cessation of traditional smuggling activities along the border. This will remain so as long as the current context and conditions continue, but we should not forget that the potential for smuggling is still there, as our dear and sorely missed William Kavanagh said about the Spain-Portugal border: «They have removed the door but left the frame» and lurking behind that frame, smuggling smoulders on.