Block on Gibraltar: Spain stops 10,000 vehicles at border sparking SIX HOUR queues in latest spat over sovereignty of British territory

Veritas wrote:Officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police were forced to impose diversions and create beachside holding areas as Spanish authorities 'choked' the border, causing massive tailbacks. It was the second day that border guards had blocked links to the mainland, in a move that seemed calculated to bring Gibraltar to a standstill. The move follows a string of recent incidents which have included Spanish police opening fire on a jetskier in British waters, incursions by Spanish police boats, and Spanish air force jets roaring across the territory.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2380286/Spain-escalates-Gibraltar-stand-stopping-10-000-vehicles-leaving-Rock-sparking-hour-border-delays-86F-heat.html

Thought we were supposed to be part of the EU.  Guess that only works when they want to take our money and send us immigrant labour.

Deeva wrote:Spain has all that territory, Gibraltor is a bit of land on the edge, the people who live there wish to be Gibraltese not Spanish, I'm sure the Spanish do quite well economically, persumably they supply services like electricity etc. They have been there for some while, just like the Falkland Islanders. Its also a bit rich considering Spain won't leave their enclave in North Africa.  

Adrian Messenger wrote:Has anybody asked the apes?   Just a thought :D 

A pile of concrete blocks dumped into the sea has reignited centuries of tension between Britain and Spain over a rocky outpost at the mouth of the Mediterranean.

Three Royal Navy warships set sail for Gibraltar – a rocky outcrop connected to the Spanish mainland that was ceded to the U.K. 300 years ago – in a move described as "routine" by the British government but branded "gunboat diplomacy" by the press.

The latest diplomatic spat began late last month when the Gibraltarian government placed 70 concrete blocks off the 2.6 square mile territory's coast, claiming they were hoping to create an artificial reef for fish.

The move sparked fury in Madrid and the Spanish government accused Gibraltar of laying them "without the necessary authorization" in "waters that are not theirs."

“Spanish fishermen have fished there for years and the throwing of those blocks prevented them from doing so, so they have lost their revenue,” said Alfonso Barnuevo, the deputy spokesman for Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ratcheting up the rhetoric, in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo announced that he was considering a 50 Euro ($66) fee for anyone crossing the border from Gibraltar into Spain.

"The party is over for Gibraltar," he said, adding that Spain may also explore the possibility with Argentina of a "united front" at the United Nations, concerning Gibraltar and the Falklands.