Help Catalonia : European Commission sent letters to the authorities of Spain addressing the issue of border in Gibraltar
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Monday, December 23, 2013
"Today the European Commission sent letters to the authorities of Spain
and the United Kingdom addressing the issues raised by the border and
customs controls between Spain and Gibraltar.
During the past
years, the Commission has received a series of complaints about the
checks made by the Spanish authorities at the border with Gibraltar. To
better understand the specificities of the crossing point of La Línea de
la Concepción, the Commission organised a technical visit on 25
September 2013.
On the basis of its observations during this
technical visit and of the information provided by both authorities, the
Commission has not found evidence to conclude that the checks on
persons and goods as operated by the Spanish authorities at the crossing
point of La Línea de la Concepción have infringed the relevant
provisions of Union law.
The management of this crossing point
is nevertheless challenging, in view of the heavy traffic volumes in a
relatively confined space and the increase in tobacco smuggling into
Spain. The Commission believes that the authorities on both sides could
take further measures to better address these challenges, and is
addressing three recommendations to both Member States.
In its
letter to Spain, the Commission recommends: 1) to optimise the physical
space available on the Spanish side of the crossing point in view of
ensuring a greater fluidity of traffic (and in particular to review the
traffic organisation on entry into Spain and on exit from Spain in order
to increase the number of vehicular lanes for travellers or to make
better use of the existing lines); 2) to optimise risk-based profiling:
carrying out more targeted checks, based on a refined risk analysis, in
order to reduce the large amount of random border controls and 3) to
develop the exchange of information with the United Kingdom on tobacco
smuggling.
In its letter to the United Kingdom, the Commission
recommends: 1) to develop risk-based profiling (in particular Gibraltar
should ensure non-systematic and risk analysis-based checks on
travellers and their belongings upon exit from Gibraltar at the crossing
point of La Línea de la Concepción); 2) optimising legislation and
safeguards in view of contributing to an efficient fight against tobacco
smuggling and 3) develop the exchange of intelligence on tobacco
smuggling with Spain.
Lastly, as for any border crossing point,
the Commission is of the opinion that the results in fighting smuggling
and cross-border crime as well as maintaining a smooth flow of traffic
can best be achieved through daily cooperation between the authorities
working on each side of the border. The Commission thus encourages all
relevant authorities to strengthen their constructive dialogue with
their counterparts for this purpose.
The Commission will
continue to monitor the situation at the crossing point of La Línea de
la Concepción and has asked to receive information from both authorities
within six months on how the recommendations have been taken into
consideration.
The Commission reserves the right to reconsider
its position should the situation change or evolve and also to pay
another visit to the crossing point of La Línea de la Concepción if
appropriate in the future."
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