European Commission Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, together with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, met in Brussels earlier today.
Following months of data collection and two visits to the border, the European Commission has said that Spain’s frontier checks are “disproportionate”. The Commission has also said that it continues to receive complaints about the excessively long queues that the Spanish authorities cause on a regular basis.
A 27 year old Moroccan national was arrested yesterday morning by Drug Squad Officers, supported by RGP drug detection dogs, at Winston Churchill Avenue.
Ahmed Hadad El Yettefti a resident of La Linea working in Gibraltar was arrested at 07:45 am as he drove from Spain and along Winston Churchill Avenue on a Spanish registered motorcycle.
The Government has expressed concern to the European Commission following the Spanish Government’s announcement to create a new regime for workers crossing the frontier. Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Garcia insisted that this ‘creates special rights and privileges for one category of EU nationals over all the others’, meaning that others including residents of both sides that are not cross border workers and tourists alike will be denied the ‘dame rights under the special regime Spain proposes to put in place. ‘