La Linea judge halts case into Spanish officer’s border complaint

A judge in La Linea has closed a case filed by the former top Spanish police officer at the border, in effect dismissing, for now at least, his complaint that interim immigration controls applied to Gibraltar residents breach EU law.

In reaching that decision, the judge accepted arguments from the Policia Nacional that the Schengen border code allowed a degree of flexibility and a fluid border was important to communities on either side pending the outcome of treaty negotiations.

Under interim arrangements agreed by Spain, the UK, the European Commission and Gibraltar, Spanish border guards have allowed red ID card holders to enter Spain without undergoing the checks applicable to non-EU nationals, which after Brexit include Gibraltar-resident British passport holders.

That means red ID card holders can cross without a stamp that would trigger the 90-in-180-day limit on stays, as well as potentially requiring them to confirm their reason for travel and other arrangements.

Conversely, Gibraltar immigration officials allow EU nationals to enter Gibraltar with just an ID card, rather than a passport.

Spain’s Ministry of Interior had insisted that the controls were in line with the requirements of the Schengen Code and that there were no security concerns.

While red ID card holders do not have their passports stamped, Spanish immigration officers check all travel documents, the ministry insisted.

But the officer in question challenged his superiors, both by unilaterally applying strict controls at the border on occasion, causing huge tailbacks and alarm here and in the Campo, and by filing a complaint in court.

This week the judge investigating the matter dismissed his arguments and accepted the position set out by Spain’s Policia Nacional, which is tasked with immigration controls at Spanish borders.

The interim controls “will continue to be applied while negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom take place, all of this considering the particular nature of the daily flow of people at the La Linea checkpoint, its socio-economic implications, and the fact that Gibraltarian citizens do not pose a risk of illegal immigration,” the judge said in her ruling, according to a report in the Campo daily Europa Sur.

The case has been closed for now, albeit in can be reopened if new information emerges.

The Spanish officer, who was recently suspended for five and a half months over disciplinary matters, has already indicated that he plans to appeal.

The judge based her decision on evidence from senior regional Policia Nacional officers, adding that the officer who filed the complaint had been at the border since 2021 and “was perfectly aware” of the situation.

Acknowledging the temporary immigration arrangements, she accepted the Policia Nacional’s evidence that they align with the Schengen Code, which allows flexible application of border control measures under certain circumstances.

She noted too the European Council decision of July 2021 authorising the negotiation of a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar, and the Policia Nacional’s evidence that interim measures would remain in place pending the outcome of that negotiation.

The court ruling further acknowledged interim arrangements for air passengers travelling to or from Gibraltar whose flights are diverted to Malaga.

The judge concluded too that other matters raised by the inspector in his complaint related to employment law and administrative issues that should be resolved within the Polica Nacional’s internal procedures.