Spanish ‘sabre rattling’ over Rock

Mr Cameron’s spokesman said threats from Madrid to impose a 50 euro (£43.30) fee on every vehicle entering or leaving the British Mediterranean outpost through its border with Spain had not been raised directly with the British Government.

Gibraltar’s leader, Fabian Picardo, accused Madrid of “sabre-rattling” following Spanish foreign minister Jose Garcia-Margallo’s suggested levy on border crossings.

Mr Garcia-Margallo said the proceeds could be used to help Spanish fishermen who have lost out because of damage to fishing grounds allegedly caused by Gibraltarian authorities. Such a fee could impose punitive costs on Gibraltarians who regularly commute into Spain to work.

Mr Picardo said “hell will freeze over” before the authorities in Gibraltar remove an artificial reef which Madrid claims is harming Spanish fishermen, adding that any border costs would violate European Union freedom of movement rules.

Spain is also considering closing its airspace to flights heading to the Rock. Mr Picardo claimed such a move would be dangerous and said it was the “politics of madness”.

Mr Picardo told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “What we have seen this weekend is sabre-rattling of the sort that we haven’t seen for some time.

“The things that Mr Garcia-Margallo has said are more reminiscent of the type of statement you’d hear from North Korea than from an EU partner.

“We’ve seen it before during Franco’s time during the 1960s but I think all of us hoped that those politics were never going to come back and that the much more enlightened politics of [Miguel Angel Moratinos], who was the previous but one foreign minister of Spain, would prevail, which talked about people working together and creating economic benefits for the citizens on both sides of the frontier rather than the belligerence we are seeing now.”

At a regular briefing for journalists in Westminster the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “Clearly, we remain seriously concerned by the events at the Spain/Gibraltar border.

“Specifically on this issue of border fees, the Spanish have not raised the prospect of introducing border fees with us. We are seeking an explanation from them regarding reports that they might target Gibraltar with further measures.”

The Government is in “close contact” with the Spanish about the issue, but the spokesman refused to give further details about what the next steps might be.

The Prime Minister last spoke to his counterpart, Mariano Rajoy, about the issue at a European Council in June, before the latest developments.

A Foreign Office source said officials were attempting to establish whether Mr Garcia-Margallo’s proposals were genuinely being considered by the Madrid government or if they were a “little bit of hot comment”.

The Foreign Office has made clear the UK expects Madrid to live up to its commitments in the 2006 Cordoba Agreement, which included deals on issues like border crossings and access for flights, as well as establishing a tripartite forum for regular dialogue between Britain, Spain and Gibraltar.

Mr Garcia-Margallo’s comments follow a number of alleged Spanish incursions into the territory’s waters.

Spain claims sovereignty over the Rock, which stands on the southernmost tip of the Iberian peninsula but has been a British Overseas Territory since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. But the UK Government has made clear that it will not negotiate over sovereignty as long as Gibraltar’s people want to remain British.

Spain’s ambassador to the UK was summoned to the Foreign Office last week for a dressing down and to demand assurances that there would be no repeat of the excessive checks at the border which have caused lengthy delays.