Forget about the EU: Spain threatens the UK over Gibraltar

Spain and the United Kingdom are both members of the European Union, since Britain is not a member of the EU border-free zone, Spain is entitled to maintain border checks in the UK dependency Gibralta

Spain and the United Kingdom are both members of the European Union, since Britain is not a member of the EU border-free zone, Spain is entitled to maintain border checks in the UK dependency Gibraltar.

Well this may cost travelers 50 Euro each way, some may have to pay this every day.

Back to the times of conflicts, Spain cannot help it and act like children fighting in the sand, or better like a banana republic.

Tensions grew in Gibraltar yesterday as Spain threatened to charge thousands of workers ยฃ85 a day to cross the border.
Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Spain had made too many concessions in the past and insisted: โ€œThe party is over.โ€

As the Spanish politician rattled off more proposed sanctions, Britain countered that the Rock would โ€œnot be compromised.โ€

Mr. Garcia-Margallo wants a tax clampdown on Gibraltar residents with homes in Spain, disruption to flights into Gibraltar by closing air space and laws forcing gambling firms to use Spanish Internet servers.

The border charge โ€“ 50 euros each way โ€“ would hit 30,000 travelers every day, including 10,000 Spanish citizens who work in the shops, hotels and bars on the Rock.

The latest aggressive talking from Madrid follows a month of deepening tensions which began when Gibraltar authorities began building a reef to bar Spanish fishing boats.

Mr. Garcia-Margallo said in a newspaper interview it was necessary to control the border tightly to curb smuggling and money-laundering.

He said: “If queues and congestions are the result then perhaps we need to start thinking about creating a charge of 50 euros to enter Gibraltar and 50 euros to leave.

โ€œItโ€™s something we are thinking about doing. The money we collect from a border crossing charge would be very useful for helping Spanish fishermen affected by the destruction of fishing grounds.โ€

The row began in June when Spanish police were said to have fired at a jet skier.

David Cameron protested about the incident to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during a Brussels summit.

Stringent cross-border checks have also caused traffic chaos.

Yesterday, the Foreign Office said: “We are concerned by the comments on Gibraltar, which we are looking into further.

โ€œAs we have said, we will not compromise on our sovereignty over Gibraltar, nor our commitment to its people.

โ€œWe continue to use all necessary measures to safeguard British sovereignty.โ€

Manuel Marquez, spokesman for the Socio-Cultural Association of Spanish workers in Gibraltar, said: โ€œWe are workers, not politicians, and all we want is to work in peace.โ€

Spanish police union spokesman Jose Maria Benito, warning border tensions created by the long queues could lead to public disorder, added: โ€œI can understand how people who have to wait in a queue for seven hours get upset.โ€

Tory MP Philip Davies called the Spanish threats โ€œpathetic.โ€

โ€œI know their economy is in a bad way but this is pretty desperate,โ€ he said.

โ€œIt goes to show why we would be better off out of the EU. We have nothing in common with the Spanish government โ€“ they are playing to the gallery with the Spanish electorate.โ€

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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