Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has committed to reducing border checks between Spain and igaming hub Gibraltar following a phone call with UK prime minister David Cameron this morning.
Cameron had phoned his Spanish counterpart “to raise serious concerns” over Spanish actions at the Gibraltar border and threats of further measures by its foreign minister, several directly targeting the Rock’s igaming industry.
Gibraltar residents and workers, many working in the Rock’s igaming industry, were forced to endure waits of up to seven hours last week after Spain ramped up border checks in apparent retaliation for Gibraltar starting work on an artificial reef which it said was damaging its local fishing industry.
Tensions were further escalated on Sunday when Spain’s foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo threatened further actions in a newspaper interview, including changing the law so igaming companies operating from the British overseas territory would have to use Spanish servers and be subject to Madrid’s tax regime.
A Downing Street spokesman said today that the PM had made it clear to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy in this morning’s phone call that the UK’s stance on the sovereignty of Gibraltar and its surrounding waters would not change, and warned there was a real risk of bilateral relations between the two countries becoming damaged “unless the situation at the border improved.”
Rajoy reportedly agreed he did not want relations to be damaged by the dispute, and that that Cameron should speak directly to Garcia-Margallo “to find a way to de-escalate the issue.” In the meantime, Rajoy “committed to reducing the measures at the border”, with both the UK and Spanish political leaders agreeing to find a solution to the fishing dispute.
Garcia-Margallo has also threatened the introduction of a €50 border crossing fee for vehicles, closing Spanish airspace to Gibraltar bound flights, and opening a tax investigation into Spanish property owned by Gibraltarians, all of which could affect those working in the Rock’s igaming sector.
Britain’s ambassador to Spain has formally protested to the Spanish government over the “disproportionate” checks at the Spain-Gibraltar border.
The European Commission confirmed yesterday that Spain was obliged to undertake the border checks, as Gibraltar is not a signatory to the Schengen Borders Agreement, allowing passport-free movement between 26 countries within the European Economic Area. It however said the checks must remain “proportionate” in accordance with EU law.
The 2.6 square mile rocky outcrop is home to around 30,000 people, with a sizeable expat community also commuting across the border from Spain every day to work in its main industries of online gambling, offshore financial services and tourism. Its British sovereignty has been a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations for more than 300 years.
Article written by Katy Stirland
