The Diplomat
Cross-border workers trying to enter Gibraltar early yesterday morning were met with “long queues and unnecessary delays” due to Gibraltar narrowing the lane at the border fence provided by the Spanish police to allow two-wheeled vehicles to pass through, police sources told Europa Press.
These sources explained that, with the aim of facilitating a greater flow of workers entering and leaving Gibraltar, and to provide greater security in the movement of vehicles through the fence, an exclusive lane has been created for two-wheeled vehicles. A measure that was communicated to the colonial government in writing more than a week ago, requesting their collaboration and studying the different options to do so in a consensual manner.
However, according to police sources, instead of implementing the lane yesterday morning, Gibraltar narrowed it “so that only cars and motorbikes could pass, in a way that has caused long queues and unnecessary delays for workers entering Gibraltar”.
The measure adopted by the Gibraltarian authorities comes days after they complained on 25 August that Spain, in compliance with Schengen regulations, had begun scanning passports at the border, including those of Gibraltarian Red Card holders and even those of some Spanish nationals”.
Although following Gibraltar’s complaints, the Spanish Interior Ministry instructed that the new passport control regime should not be applied to Gibraltarians, the Picardo government has decided to react to this control measure, as it had threatened to do, by damaging the access of cross-border workers.
In addition, the colony’s authorities yesterday applied the same controls at the border that it had protested against, with Gibraltarian officers randomly scanning the documents of non-British citizens. Gibraltar said they are aware that “they are causing problems, particularly for Spanish border workers”.
The Socio-Cultural Association of Spanish Workers in Gibraltar (Ascteg) yesterday demanded explanations from the ‘llanitas’ authorities for the long queues caused, adding. “We are dismayed, as this is the first time we have had to blame Gibraltar for the queues and delays of border crossers at the border. We hope that the problem will be resolved with all the urgency it deserves”.
The exchange of measures at the fence comes in parallel with Spain’s protest to the UK over the harassment of Spanish vessels in the waters surrounding the Rock, whose sovereignty is claimed by both Madrid and London.
Albares: Gibraltar was warned
Last night, from Cádiz, where he will today attend a meeting of EU cooperation ministers, the acting foreign affairs minister, José Manuel Albares, confirmed that “Gibraltar had been aware for several days” of the measure taken by Spain “precisely to facilitate access for cross-border workers“. “What we want is greater fluidity in the passage between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar”, said Albares, while pointing out that “on the Gibraltar side, the necessary infrastructure has not been put in place to be able to handle this two-wheeled traffic, and this is what has led to this bottleneck”.
According to the minister, this situation shows the need to reach an agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar, to create an area of shared prosperity and to resolve situations “that are clearly absurd,” he said, “and which, if resolved, would be mutually beneficial for Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar”.
