Rose Lapp (Reporter)
DAVID Cameron spoke to Mariano Rajoy today in an attempt to resolve the recent conflict between Gibraltar and Spain.
His intervention came after the Spanish government threatened to implement a €50 border fee.
According to a spokesman, the UK Prime Minister made his ‘serious concerns’ about the situation clear, while emphasizing that ‘he did not want the issue to become an obstacle in the bilateral relations.’
In response, Prime Minister Rajoy promised to reduce border checks.
Both men agreed that there should be a solution to the dispute.
The UK Foreign Secretary yesterday offered support to the Gibraltar chief minister, saying that the UK “stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Gibraltar.’
The EC committee maintains that border control between Spain and Gibraltar is legal, as Gibraltar is not included in the Schengen Borders Agreement.
He’s intervened. Rajoy has promised and only a few hours later there is a 2 hour queue to get into Gibraltar. When will people learn that Spanish politicians are not to be trusted??
To be honest, it frustrates me, when they pull out the old “Not part of the schengen zone”. I am sure last time I went to Andorra, by car, there was no such restrictions and searching. And oh, they sell cheap fags and booze too!!
Might be because he or his Foreign Affairs minister, doesn’t want to be seen as a complete pushover, might be because the order has not yet filtered down, might be because the respect there should be for the head man is not there anymore or they are taking their orders from somewhere or someone else other than Rajoy. Might be because Spanish plate cars tend to jump the queue with total impunity, leaving those on line further back waiting. With Spain anything might be. Nothing is certain, not even what they put in the paella.
I wonder how this conversation was conducted seeing as Rajoy does not speak English, bog off was obviously translated as we will see what we can do from the Spanish end.
Anybody wanting to know just how much, in good old British Pounds and Pence, Spain is shooting itself in the foot with its current attitude towards Gibraltar, especially in situation Spain finds itself economically and job wise, might like to look through this Economic Impact Study of Gibraltar on the Campo de Gibraltar commissioned by the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce in 2009.
“http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/16695/1/GCoC-24920-FletcherReport-Abridged.pdf”
There is another being commissioned for the following years.
Ok Guys, time to stop pussy footing. This is what the Gibraltar Government is trying to avoid happening in our own BTW.:
“http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jul/26/spanish-fishermen-fines2
Spanish fishermen receive some of biggest fines in UK maritime history
Details emerged of falsified log books, false readings given for weighing fish at sea, and fiddling of fishing quota
If UK mainland had borders with Spain, how long would the queues be? Anyone who thinks its just a little group of pseudo Englanders (like I read somewhere) trying to make trouble, had better wake up to some facts of life.
In the meantime, UK is deploying its biggest warship in Gibralter. That should scare the spannish.
Gibralter is spelled Gibraltar you should have gone to specsavers
Dear me Onlooker spannish has 1 n ie: spanish .Not even specsavers can help you!
I wonder how this conversation was conducted seeing as Cameron does not speak Spanish, bog off was obviously translated as we will see what we can do from the English end.
Does Cameron really believe that Rajoy would impose a crossing fee upon Spaniards going to and from work??. Does he really believe that he would further damage local business in La Linea??. It’s all a big bluff and Cameron can’t see it. And as for interfering with air space, Yeah right.
And what is Clegg doing??. Not that he’s a such a great politician but he does speaks Spanish fluently. He should be on site talking consructively to both Rajoy and Gibraltar rather than letting Cameron rattle the Hispanic cage with his empty “rule Britannia” rhetoric.
And the PR result of all this is that, what is essentially a local issue, becomes headline news on all the main Spanish TV channels which ‘conveniently’ feature the odd tobacco smuggler. And the result for Rajoy is just what he wanted, a diversión from his own not insignificant party issues.
Amparo,
It gets even worse, the Spanish Foreign Minister wants to charge everybody else, but workers coming in and leaving Gibraltar. If that is not discriminatory as well as illegal, then what is.
What I cannot believe is that Rajoy, Margallo and company think that UK and Gibraltar are just going to sit on their hands and do nothing. Or maybe they are hoping that we do, and in that manner continue their distraction of the real problems that they are facing in Spain beyond the summer. I have read that they are thinking of presenting a united front with the Argies in the United Nations next time in their claims to the Falklands and Gibraltar. The Spanish government sold some military aircraft to the Argies last month. Seems that maybe to rally support from their Hispanic “brothers” they are going to ask the UN to waiver the visas required from Peruvians to travel to Spain. Makes you wonder whether all this was not pre-planned in a crisis deflecting conference and is nothing to do with the fishermen or the reefs doesn’t it.
@Inthename. The latest threat of imposing a crossing fee on all non Spanish citizens shows just how desperate Margallo, sponsored by Rajoy is to raise the hype. They both know full well that it would be totally illegal. (Not that the EU has the guts or nous to enforce compliance with EU law).
In any such (unlikely) move, no doubt the Brit’s would reciprocate in some way further exacerbating the tension, damaging the working lives or earning capacity of those Spaniards who work in Gibraltar and impacting upon the business community in and around La Linea.
It just show’s how out of touch the PP is with the electorate. No Spaniard (apart from good natured banter) want’s to tipple the status quo. Contrary to Margallo’s idiotic quip that “se acabó el recreo”, there never was a party, the relationship has always been key to the working lives of ordinary local people and he is playing political poker with them. He thinks we are all too naive and stupid to suss out the real motive behind all this tontería.
And to watch the news on Antena 3, you could be forgiven for thinking that WW3 is about to start. They make scant mention of the annual, routine, and pre planned (with Spanish consent) nature of the visit of the Royal Navy nor of it’s real purpose in calling into Gibraltar.
And those fishermen that are complaining about the new reef??. I don’t recall similar stories of impending death and misery when similar reef’s were constructed further up the coast.
The tax would be for all cars that will pass the fence with the exception of those that do it for to work in Gibraltar or in Spain.
The pedestrians have only a little queue, for to check the passport.
Its amazing for me that more than ten thousands of vehicles by day pass by the check points daily.