Sep 30 - Cross Frontier Group: Temporary Border Arrangements “Highly Unsatisfactory”
The Gibraltar/La Linea Cross Frontier Group (CFG) says it has been monitoring the recent commencement of works by Spain to fulfil its obligations set out by the European Commission following the technical visit to the frontier by an EU delegation 12 months ago.
The group notes that, after a considerable delay, Spanish authorities have started the works at the frontier which they say should reduce the long queues at the Gibraltar/Spain border. According to the group, however, initial indications show that the Spanish government “has little if any interest in improving traffic flow at the frontier.” The group argues that the temporary arrangements that have been put in place whilst the works are carried out are “wholly unsatisfactory and even dangerous.”
A statement from the group continues: “Since the works commenced only one lane has been provided in each direction for vehicles. Over the last few weeks the queues at the frontier have been as bad as ever resulting in delays of more than 2 hours to enter and leave Gibraltar. These delays have a pronounced impact on the hundreds of local businesses and thousands of EU citizens who live and work on both sides of the frontier.
“Spain still refuses to provide adequate resources to police the efficient flow of traffic at the frontier. Spain has an obligation to ensure that the frontier is policed with adequate resources. Its failure to do so shows a certain lack of genuineness. The CFG is sceptical that even after the works at the Frontier are completed that Spain will employ sufficient human resources to ensure that there are no delays.
“The Spanish authorities were also recommended by the Commission to adopt a more modern form of risk-assessment when conducting searches and checks of vehicles and citizens crossing the frontier. Again this appears to have been ignored. All Spanish-registered cars are routinely stopped. Sometimes thorough checks will be conducted, whereas sometimes just arbitrary half-hearted ones are carried out. Often these checks are conducted in the driving lane instead of the cars being taken to one side to ensure that traffic continues to flow. The purpose of these implies that the checks are not security-related at all but to cause additional unnecessary delays. This is totally unacceptable and goes against the spirit of trying to promote better relations.
“For the traffic to flow smoothly there needs to be communication between the authorities on both sides of the frontier to enable them to plan accordingly. Information about Spain’s temporary plans for traffic arrangements during the works have only been made known at short notice. Law enforcement and traffic arrangements cannot thus be planned effectively. This adds to the congestion unnecessarily.
“The Cross Frontier Group will be writing once again to the European Commission, to the UK Government and also to other groups to highlight these problems which the Spanish government is causing to EU citizens on a daily basis. It would appear that whatever commitments the Spanish government has given the European Commission they do not have much credibility.
“The Cross Frontier Group will continue to raise this issue locally, regionally, nationally and internationally until the checks are reduced to a proportionate and reasonable level. The Group will continue to put pressure on the Spanish government to remove these stringent checks and adopt a more measured and risk based approach to ensure a freely-flowing frontier.”
