Spain and Gibraltar

[Taf]

Spain is considering a 50-euro (£43) fee to cross its border with Gibraltar

...Spanish tax authorities could launch an investigation into property owned by around 6,000 Gibraltarians in neighbouring parts of Spain.

Spain is also considering closing its airspace to flights heading to Gibraltar, and changing the law so that online gaming companies operating from the British overseas territory have to use Spanish servers and come under the jurisdiction of Madrid's taxation regime...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23567976

---------- Post added at 17:12 ---------- Previous post was at 17:08 ----------

Spanish police shot at a jetski in Gibraltarian waters, and Spanish fighter jets entered Gibraltarian airspace recently.... is all this a calculated attempt to cause tension?

[Sirius]

Simple answer

We could tax every flight leaving the UK to ANY Spanish destination with a £43.00 tax on every passenger each way. Lets see how fast they change there minds when they start to lose holidays makers to there holiday destinations.

[Derek]

Surely imposing specific charges to enter/exit a single territory is against all manner of EU rules and we all know how every member of the EU sticks to every rule and diktat to the letter

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Derek

Surely imposing specific charges to enter/exit a single territory is against all manner of EU rules and we all know how every member of the EU sticks to every rule and diktat to the letter

Whats the betting that WE are in the wrong if the bureaucrats in Brussels get hold of this.

Originally Posted by Sirius

Whats the betting that WE are in the wrong if the bureaucrats in Brussels get hold of this.

Very unlikely since Spain are the ones doing it. Unless the reef is a problem.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Damien

Very unlikely since Spain are the ones doing it. Unless the reef is a problem.

Time will tell.

[Doug P]

Doubt this is more than sabre rattling....

[Osem]

I suggest everyone thinking about heading to Spain for a holiday in the foreseeable future drops a line to their embassy here suggesting they'll go somewhere else instead. That might focus a few minds in Madrid.

[Taf]

I think they are upset that Blair didn't give them Gib..... and are trying to divert national attention away from their real problems... as did the Argies...

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by Doug P

Doubt this is more than sabre rattling....

Maybe but i think we can rattle those sabres better than they can.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

!00% inspection of the contents of Spanish lorries, everything out no matter how perishable. Got to check for Brucid Beetles, oak beetles, elm beetles, ash beetles you name it beetles. 48Hour delays whilst the paperwork is processed. Loads of guys in Hi-Viz jackets. I know we can do beureucratic better then any other county.

Gets my vote, lets do it.

[spreadsheet]

Originally Posted by Derek

Surely imposing specific charges to enter/exit a single territory is against all manner of EU rules and we all know how every member of the EU sticks to every rule and diktat to the letter

they charge handsomely for the Severn bridge

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

!00% inspection of the contents of Spanish lorries, everything out no matter how perishable. Got to check for Brucid Beetles, oak beetles, elm beetles, ash beetles you name it beetles. 48Hour delays whilst the paperwork is processed. Loads of guys in Hi-Viz jackets. I know we can do beureucratic better then any other county.

The snag is that those lorries would be carrying supplies for Gibraltar.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by spreadsheet

they charge handsomely for the Severn bridge

That's one option, probably run by a private company, to go from one part of the UK to another. It's not the only way to enter and exit and Wales and Scotland aren separate entities in the EU.

If Spain decided to put a tax on the crossing point to Gibraltar surely it would have impose the same tax on all the crossings to France.

The UK couldn't just impose a tariff on flights coming from Romania and claim it was an ATM skimmer tax. They would be hauled up in front of the EU very quickly and told in no uncertain terms to bin it.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by nomadking

The snag is that those lorries would be carrying supplies for Gibraltar.

We could ship the supplies in and give a boost to our suppliers.