Aug 21 - Hague Believes Frontier Delays are ‘Politically Motivated’
Answering questions at a press conference today, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague told Wall Street Journal Reporter Laurence Norman that he welcomed the fact the European Commission is sending a fact-finding mission to the border. He added that the Government believed the delays at the border have been disproportionate and are politically motivated. ‘No-one should underestimate our determination to stand with the people of Gibraltar.’
Gibraltarian resident of Santa Margarita in La Linea, Allen Bula, yesterday had two tyres of his Gibraltarian registered car slashed as it was parked outside his home.
According to the Spanish daily El Pais, the Guardia Civil have received orders to block any trucks carrying Spanish sand from coming into Gibraltar.
The recent escalation of the so-called ‘Gibraltar Problem’ reminds us that in any discussion of the Rock’s future, it is the Gibraltarians that need to be put first. But recent events also invite us to think about Gibraltar’s relationship with people in the UK.
José Ignacio Echániz, the PP’s National Secretary for Health and Social Affairs has described Gibraltar’s health service as being inferior to Spanish medical provision and suggests that, as a result, many Gibraltarians with homes in Spain are making full use of Spanish health facilities.
Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo claimed that the UN has clearly established that Gibraltar’s colonial situation needs to come to end, through negotiations between the UK and Spain. He adds that since the beginning of the current legislation, the Spanish Government has urged the UK to resume bilateral negotiations on the issue of Gibraltar’s sovereignty.
This Thursday, individuals caught in frontier queues will be able to voice their concerns through a new complaints procedure. All information received through this new scheme will allow the Gibraltar Government to provide more accurate statistics to the European Commission and, if necessary, to prepare a court case. The procedure is open to people of any nationality who have suffered from the delays. Individuals must provide their name, address, nationality and passport or ID number when filing complaints.
With Spanish officials yesterday being told by the EU Commission that charging individuals to pass through the Gibraltar – Spain frontier would be illegal, the Foreign Ministry has today claimed that the Government’s proposal for a toll tax on users of a particular transport network in areas of high demand and traffic congestion is completely within European standards.
