Fears that Gibraltar could be cut off from the mainland

About 15,000 Spanish workers cross the Rock every day. Credit: Benny Marty/Shutterstock

Gibraltar's government prepares for the results of Spain's upcoming elections, amid fears that the country's next prime minister could cut off the territory from the mainland. concerns that Madrid will take a hard line on sovereignty over the Rock and could close its narrow land border on the isthmus if relations deteriorate.

The result of the vote could also jeopardize a long-awaited post-Brexit deal to create a common travel zone between Spain and Gibraltar, in which it will be necessary to find new mechanisms to facilitate the transition of up to 15,000 Spanish workers to the Rock each. day.

Joseph Garcia, Gibraltar's Deputy Chief Minister, told The Telegraph that his government remained committed to negotiating a deal to guarantee the smooth movement of people across the border, but said it was in the case where there was no agreed outcome.

Spain's current left-wing government has suspended the country's traditional demand for shared sovereignty, instead of talking about creating a «zone of common prosperity» in which both sides of the border would benefit from a stable agreement.

Early elections

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's decision to hold early elections froze talks that Madrid and London said were close to an agreement.

But the socialist leader's gamble looks set to backfire, and his likely successor will be Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the main conservative opposition People's Party of Spain (PP), which leads in all opinion polls.

Mr. Feijoo, centrist — Right-wing politician believes that the Rock is a British colony and should be returned to Spain.

The PP's election manifesto speaks of a solution to the «decolonization process of Gibraltar and the restoration of sovereignty.»

Vox describes Gibraltar. as «occupied territory» and its leader, Santiago Abascal, calls the Rock a «cave of pirates.»

«It's unbearable that Spanish territory is a tax haven,» says Vox's manifesto.

«They can talk their rhetoric all they want,» said Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar's chief minister, in response to the sharp thud of the Vox.

«They will never touch my ground. The people of Gibraltar will never let them do that,” Picardo told the European Control Committee of the House of Commons earlier this month.

The territorial waters dispute

It won't be the first time that the right-wing government in Madrid has tried to squeeze the Rock dry. Under the People's Party government in 2013 and 2014, there were huge lines at the border crossings for months.

Spain stepped up security checks amid tensions over the use of territorial waters, to which Madrid still does not recognize the right of Gibraltar.< /p>

General Franco, dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975, slammed the border Gibraltar was closed in 1969. It was not fully opened until 1985, when Spain was preparing to join the EU.

The agreement in principle reached on New Year's Eve 2020 stated that Gibraltar would become part of the EU passport. the free Schengen area and the land border will be erased.

But disputes over who will guard the airport and ports of Gibraltar, which will now be points of entry into the Schengen area, prevented the signing of the agreement.

Gibraltar has consistently stated that its red line is «Spanish boots on the ground». .

As negotiations continue, Spanish officials turn a blind eye to regulations requiring Gibraltarians to stamp their passports when entering Spain.

“If Brexit comes into full effect, wet Passport stamps will be applied at the border in both directions. The border will collapse; it would be like 25 large planes arriving at a small airport between 8:00 and 10:00,” John Isola, head of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce, told The Telegraph.

Impact on workforce

The impact of losing half of Gibraltar's workforce will hurt its economy.

«Nowhere else is there a situation where 15,000 EU citizens cross the border every day in search of a livelihood,» said Mr. Isola.

He added that the consequences of closing the border would also be disastrous for the Spanish side. Families will lose their breadwinners, and Gibraltarians who love to travel to Spain to spend their free time will spend less.

La Linea de la Concepción, a city huddled around the north side of the border, has a 29 percent unemployment rate, the highest in Spain.

“I can't believe any politician in Madrid today will act in a way that will cause enormous damage to its own citizens, returning Spain to the same tactics used by Franco when he closed the border and in one night 10,000 of his citizens lost their jobs,” he said. Isola said.

Mr Feihou signaled that he would continue to try to negotiate a border settlement, he added.

Foreign Office sources said «the UK stands firmly behind our Gibraltar and will not agree to anything that jeopardizes sovereignty.

On the subject of a potential labor crisis, Deputy Chief Minister Garcia said that Gibraltar is already building additional accommodation for key workers and installing electronic gates at the border to allow more people to pass at the same time.

Gibraltar. could accept agents from the EU border agency Frontex instead of Spanish border guards.

“Sorry, but there should be Spanish customs officers and police at the Schengen border,” Lisardo Capote said. is in charge of Spain's customs agency in Algeciras, the Spanish port city that faces the Rock on the other side of the Gulf of Gibraltar.

“Being part of the Schengen area means fiscal control and security,” said Mr. Capote. The Telegraph.

The Spanish customs officer listed several other complaints related to Gibraltar's low tax regime and what he sees as a willful ignorance of tobacco smuggling, which he says costs hundreds of millions of euros a year. year.

However, the administration of the Rock replied: “The argument of the Spaniards is false, and they know it. It is based on the false assumption that every cigarette smuggled into Spain […] comes from Gibraltar.”