The Diplomat
The Ministry of the Interior has instructed the Spanish security forces at the Gibraltar border not to apply the new passport control regime imposed on Gibraltarians at the crossing point since last Thursday, following protests from the Rock’s authorities.
The decision, which, The Diplomat has learned, has caused surprise among the officials in charge of these controls, comes just a few hours after a communiqué from the Gibraltarian government was released, in which it asked the Spanish government for clarification of the implementation of the new regime without prior warning and threatened to respond in return.
In its communiqué, Fabian Picardo’s government accused Spain of having implemented, “without prior warning” last Thursday, a new passport control regime at the border. It specified that “the new practice involves the scanning of a significant number of passports, including those of red card holders resident in Gibraltar and even those of some Spanish nationals”.
Reports from Gibraltar,” the statement added, “suggest that some identification cards are also being scanned. This, together with an increased number of people crossing the border at the height of the summer tourist season, has caused long queues and considerable inconvenience to thousands of people arriving in Gibraltar, the vast majority of whom are in fact Spanish”.
Gibraltar said it had already asked Spain for clarification, as had the UK, and warned that “in the event that no explanation is forthcoming, or that the explanation is unreasonable in the circumstances, the Government of Gibraltar will act in a reciprocal and gradual manner from next week”.
This means,” he explained, “that cross-border workers who are not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement must ensure that they have valid travel documents available for inspection when entering Gibraltar. Those who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement will need to demonstrate this by also presenting valid travel and identity documents on a daily basis”.
The Government of the Rock said it “deeply regrets this situation, a consequence, it insisted, of the measures adopted by Spain for which no explanation has yet been received”.
Finally, Gibraltar warned that it will not hesitate to implement new passport and identity document scans, and other measures if necessary, for non-British citizens, as well as new queuing protocols, if there are no changes.
Hours after this communiqué was made public, the Ministry headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska informed the agents in charge of control at the border that they should stop scanning the passports of Gibraltarians who, as residents of the colony, have a red card to pass from one side to the other.
The exemption, however, does not apply to Spaniards crossing the border, who will continue to be subject to the new control regime, which was put in place, among other reasons, to detect people wanted by the courts who might try to take advantage of the increased influx of visitors to Gibraltar to escape police action.
