Tunnel tussen Spanje en Marokko (en)

Europe will soon be linked to Africa by a rail tunnel according to plans agreed by Spain and Morocco over the weekend.

The work will begin under the Strait of Gibraltar in 2008 and the rail tunnel will be nearly 39km long, of which 28 will be under the sea.

The site was chosen because the Mediterranean at that point is only around 300 metres deep.

The proposed tunnel would copy the Channel Tunnel, linking the UK to the rest of Europe, with two rail tunnels and a service tunnel linking them.

The Spanish mouth of the tunnel will be at Punta Palomas, about 40km west of Gibraltar, and the Moroccan end at Punta Malabata, near Tangier.

The agreement between the two countries comes after years of wrangling. Both sides had agreed to create a link in the 1980s but were held up by several disputes mainly over illegal immigration and fishing.

Spain and Morocco are hoping that the European Union will finance the project.