2023-09-04 17:24:07
Chaos at the Gibraltar Gate. Thousands of Spanish workers who were trying to enter the Rock this morning have been seen caught in a very long queue caused by the blocking of a lane from the Gibraltarian side. The nerves have been unleashed: constant beeps, falls and irritation before you even start your workday. Some scenes that take place little more than one week after the chief minister of the colony, Fabián Picardo, threaten retaliation to Spain for its checkpoints at La Verja, the metallic line that separates Spain from the British colony.
Today’s tensions arose after, at around seven in the morning, the Spanish police officers opened a new lane for two-wheelers, separated from that of cars. In this way, the aim was to make the traffic of the thousands of Spanish employees in the Rock flow, who, for the most part, ride motorcycles, bicycles or electric skates.
From the Gibraltarian side two plastic barriers have been placed blocking that new lane, as can be seen in the photos to which this newspaper has had access. This has turned the two lanes on the Spanish side into one on the Gibraltarian side, forming a real funnel.
At nine in the morning, two hours after the attempt, The Ministry of the Interior has given the order to stop using that lane for the moment, according to official Spanish sources familiar with the situation on the ground. The Government of Fabián Picardo has complained about an opening that, he considers, only benefits the Spanish side, according to diplomatic sources.
National Police sources assure this newspaper that it was communicated to Gibraltar “in writing and more than a week ago” the Spanish intention to create a lane only for two-wheeled vehicles. Their collaboration was requested and the different options to do so in a consensual manner were studied, they allege. The intention is to facilitate greater fluidity for workers when entering and leaving Gibraltar and to provide greater security in the movement of vehicles. Sometimes, motorcycles or skates zigzag between cars and this generates tension and friction. But Gibraltar has not cooperated for the moment.
Other knowledgeable sources specify more: the Gibraltarian officials would have received the order from their Government to not collaborate for political reasons. That is why the three plain agents that were there this morning have not left their booth to carry out separate controls for motorcycles and cars, they allege.
120,000 daily transits
Spanish diplomacy has been engaged in negotiations with the European Union and the United Kingdom for almost two years to settle the Gibraltar mess after Brexit. When defining the Gate a separation with a territory that does not belong to the Schengen zone, in principle the same controls must be applied as to the citizens of any third country. Until now, a lax policy of good will and few controls have been applied. But that seems to be changing.
In 2024, the new European Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated register of travelers from third countries. Spain has received reinforcements of personnel at its borders to carry it out, also in Gibraltar, a de facto (not de jure) border, according to official Spanish sources familiar with the situation. In total there are between 15 and 20 officials on the Spanish side.
Some of the new staff you want to use to manage that new lane for two-wheeled vehicles and facilitate the daily transit to their workplace for thousands of people.
They are estimated at 120,000 daily transits of people at these times of the year (30,000 in both directions) and vehicles (another 30,000). The bulk are Spanish workers who have their jobs in the colony. There are also a high number of tourists, especially now in summer. And the rest are llanitos (Gibraltareños) who go to the Spanish side to shop or to enjoy their summer homes in luxurious mansions in Sotogrande (Cádiz).
Threats of retaliation
In recent days, swords have been raised between the Government of Spain, the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. The Foreign Ministry has presented several official diplomatic complaints (verbal notes) to the United Kingdom for the incidents that have been occurring during the summer in the waters surrounding Gibraltar and that all parties claim as their own, as this newspaper announced. Spain has denounced the harassment of fishing boatsthe clashes with customs patrol boats and the diesel oil spill.
The Government of Fabián Picardo protested for its part on August 26 with a statement in which he threatened to retaliate against the workers who cross the border every day to work on the line. He complained about passport controls (scans) on people entering Spain through the Gate. Gibraltarians and the British are also beginning to be made to pass through the queue of non-EU citizens when entering Spain. Madrid claimed that the Schengen entry criteria were being applied, among other reasons for security reasons. The Ministry of the Interior agreed to back off on those checksfor the sake of good understanding with a view to the negotiations of the Treaty on Gibraltar.
#Gibraltar Unexplained queues at the border pic.twitter.com/UG3wdPa7CH
— InfoGibraltar (@InfoGibraltar) October 9, 2019
At the moment there is no official confirmation or denial about whether the physical blockade of the new lane for two-wheeled vehicles It is the retaliation announced by Picardo. At the closing of this article, the Government of Gibraltar has not responded to questions about it from this newspaper. The Spanish Foreign Ministry has not wanted to comment either.
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