Aug 09 - Foreign Office Statement On Yesterday’s Queues
In response to the following question, the Office of the Governor has provided the following statement:
Q: What action, if any, has been taken by the FCO in response to the delays at the border yesterday?
A: The Convent is concerned about the border queues which built up last night. We brought the matter to the attention of the FCO in London and Madrid. An FCO spokesperson said:
“The UK’s Government’s position is that these delays are unjustified and unacceptable; and the imposition of border controls for politically-motivated reasons is in contravention of EU law. These delays impact on the prosperity and wellbeing of people in both Gibraltar and Spain. We understand that the majority of vehicles crossing the border in recent days are Spanish. It is striking that the Spanish authorities are willing to put in place these illegitimate and disproportionate measures regardless of the impact on their own community. We are collecting evidence of these politically motivated border delays in collaboration with the Government of Gibraltar. This evidence will be submitted to the European Commission to investigate these illegitimate and disproportionate border delays as soon as possible. Our main concern is to restore people’s basic right to freedom of movement and enable a return to normal operations at the border. We have made this clear to the Spanish Government. The UK firmly believes that our differences with Spain on Gibraltar should be resolved by political means, not through illegitimate and disproportionate measures such as the border delays we have seen in recent days.”
