Spain talking tough on Gibraltar
Spain and the UK government were once again embroiled in dispute over Gibraltar with the Spanish government now threatening an entry fee to cross the Spanish Gibraltar border of 100 Euros per day along with threatening online gambling companies that if they still wanted to service their country with online gambling they would have to relocate their servers to the mainland.
The latest argument over this tiny island which has been governed by the UK for 300 years at the most southern point of Spain erupted when the border control effectively closed the crossing between the two with strong security checks making many wanting to enter Gibraltar wait for 5 hours or more which normally only takes 5 minutes.
Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said Spain had made too many concessions in the past and insisted: ‘The party is over.’
From the UK the messages was clear with a minister saying that the status of Gibraltar would ‘not be compromised’.
Mr Garcia-Margallo wants to go even further with a tax clampdown on Gibraltar residents with homes in Spain and closing Spanish airspace to flights into Gibraltar by closing air space.
It seems both sides are not comprising on their stance with the UK approaching the EU for assistance but the EU saying both countries should resolve this issue. It has always been the view of the EU that they do not want to be drawn into the dispute over Gibraltar.
Should the threats from Spain materialize into a fee to cross the border and also to online gambling, it would cause huge problems for online companies based there.
