Tit-for-tat immigration controls cause rush hour border chaos

There were chaotic scenes at the border during rush hour on Friday morning after Borders & Coastguard Officers were instructed to tighten controls in response to a decision by Spanish immigration officers to stamp passports of Gibraltar Red ID card holders, contrary to interim agreements in place pending treaty negotiations.

The Gibraltarian measure was lifted some 30 minutes later after Gibraltar authorities were advised Spanish border guards had been told to return to the interim arrangements.

But at 9am, Spanish Policia Nacional were still stamping passports of Gibraltar Red ID card holders wanting to cross into Spain, raising the prospect of reciprocal controls being reintroduced unless the situation was resolved.

Between 7am and 8am, border traffic heading into Gibraltar ground to a halt as cross-border workers were asked to produce passports and stamped as they entered Gibraltar. Normally, they can cross with ID cards.

There were tense scenes too as Guardia Civil officers tried to disband a group of angry workers who blocked the vehicular exit from the border compound into Spain.

The gridlock at the border was felt across organisations and businesses in Gibraltar, as daily commuters waited to cross unable to get to their places of work.

The development comes in the final stages of the negotiation for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc, and after recent public statements pointing to tension between the negotiating parties.

Earlier this week, Jose Manuel Albares, Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, said the UK and Gibraltar must decide whether to accept the “comprehensive, balanced, and pragmatic” proposals made by Spain and the EU or face the implications of an EU-wide change to border controls as from November.

But in reply, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo urged Spain to accept “reasonable and well-balanced” proposals for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar, or “condemn us all” to tough border controls that will complicate the lives of workers and ordinary people.

Both ministers were referring to the EU’s Entry/Exit System, which was due to come into force on November 10 and had focused the minds of negotiators amid concern it would cause severe disruption at the border unless a treaty was agreed beforehand.

The EES will mean an end to interim measures applied to Gibraltar Red ID card holders to date while negotiations are under way.

The automated system requires non-EU travellers to register their biometric details including fingerprints and a facial scan, which would be used by border officers to check travellers every time they entered the Schengen zone.

It would also limit Gibraltar red ID card holders, who have so far been exempted from normal Schengen controls, to no more than 90 days in any 180-day period inside the Schengen zone.

On Thursday night, treaty negotiators were given a reprieve of sorts when the EU again delayed the introduction of the EES and scrapped the November 10 start date.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced the decision after Germany, France the Netherlands said they were not ready.

"We had a target date of the 10th of November but after in-depth discussions with Member States and stakeholders, it’s clear that this is not going to be the 10th of November," Ms Johansson told reporters.

"I hope we can start as soon as possible but there's no new timeline so far.”

Friday’s development was not the first sign of the potential for tighter restrictions at the border as negotiators seek to find a way through the remaining areas of disagreement in a process that has dragged on for three years.

Earlier this week, the Chronicle reported that the BA flight to London on Wednesday evening was cancelled after Spanish border guards refused to follow established protocols allowing passengers to transit to Malaga airport when their flight is diverted.

The BA flight was diverted to the Spanish airport due to adverse weather conditions in Gibraltar, but when it emerged that Spanish Policia Nacional officers would not allow non-EU passengers in Gibraltar to be ferried to Malaga, the airline took the decision to cancel the return leg.

Spain and Gibraltar established protocols some months ago that allow passengers due to fly from Gibraltar to cross into Spain with their travel and flight documents if their service is diverted to Malaga.

The reasons for the decision by Spanish border guards on Wednesday were unclear, though a spokesperson for No.6 Convent Place said it had been “a unilateral action” by the duty Policia Nacional Inspector that was “not supported by the Interior Ministry in Madrid”.

The Gibraltar Government was in contact with Spanish authorities throughout the incident and the situation appeared to be resolved late Wednesday evening.

There was no clarity either on Friday morning as to why Spanish border guards had opted not to apply the interim arrangements to Gibraltar Red ID card holders, a step that triggered the reciprocal action on the Gibraltar side.

“HM Government of Gibraltar was formally advised last night that instructions had been given to act contrary to the interim arrangements agreed for the frontier crossing of Gibraltar Red ID card holders,” a spokesperson for No.6 Convent Place told the Chronicle early Friday morning.

As a result, Borders & Coastguard officers were instructed to tighten their checks as from 7am on Friday.

The instructions were that only cross-border workers with passports should be allowed to enter and these were stamped on entry.

“We had no choice but to move to immediate reciprocity,” the spokesperson for No.6 said.

The Gibraltar Government was advised at 7.30am that Spain had desisted and returned to the interim arrangements.

But at 8.55am, Policia Nacional officers were still stamping the passports of Gibraltar Red ID card holders crossing into Spain.

One Gibraltarian woman who spoke to the Chronicle said she had questioned the reason why when she was stopped as she tried to cross into La Linea to go shopping.

She was told politely that he had instructions to stamp the passports.

“I asked for my passport back and returned to Gibraltar,” she told the Chronicle.

The reciprocal response on Friday morning suggests that unless Spanish authorities return to the interim measures, tighter controls on the Gibraltar side will be reintroduced.

The Gibraltar Government has long made clear that Gibraltar would adopt reciprocal measures at the border to mirror those applied to Gibraltar residents.

Spanish authorities have long claimed that EU cross-border workers would be able cross freely irrespective of the outcome of the treaty negotiation, in part thanks to the protections enshrined in the Withdrawal Agreement.

But only a third of the 15,000-strong cross-border workforce enjoy those protections, and in any event would be subject to controls to confirm their identity and employment status.

The remainder will have to comply with any tighter controls introduced.

On GBC on Thursday, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo signalled the type of reciprocal measures that Gibraltar would take if a deal was not agreed by the time the EES comes into operation.

“I have to be very clear with you, and I have to be very clear with every person who crosses the frontier, whether they are a frontier worker or not, that there will be reciprocal measures in Gibraltar,” Mr Picardo said.

“We will soon be advertising those in plain English and plain Spanish to those who cross the frontier.”

“They will need to understand that to cross the frontier into Gibraltar, once EES has happened, everybody will need a passport.”

“If they're not a British citizen, they will have their passport stamped.”

“Eventually, we will be implementing a visa for which there will be a cost.”

“If you are a worker that is covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, you will have certain benefits.”

“But of the 15,000 cross frontier workers there are today, only one third, 5000, are covered by the withdrawal agreement.”

“So 10,000 workers will not have the benefit of not being covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and they will have to comply with full obligations under the new regime.”

“This will be as onerous for those coming into Gibraltar as it will be for those of us from Gibraltar going into Spain.”

“That's how immigration works. That's what we're looking at. That's what this negotiation is trying to avoid. That's why it's so important.”

There are concerns though that applying reciprocal measures will have a major negative impact on organisations and businesses who rely on cross-border workers, including Gibraltar’s health and care services.

Mr Picardo said the Gibraltar Government had conducted studies on this impact but declined to share the findings.