Gib tug-of-war: A 50-euro border crossing charge 'would be illegal', says European Commission
Tuesday, August 20, 2013 @ 12:41 PM
EUROPEAN Commission president José Manuel Durão Barroso has warned Spain that it would be 'illegal' to charge a fee to cross the Gibraltar border into Spain.
Barroso, in a telephone conversation to Spanish president Mariano Rajoy, called for the country to 'respect EU laws' in its tensions with the UK over boundary issues with the Rock and said that although Brussels did not intend to pass comment 'officially' over the 50-euro border charge threatened by the foreign affairs minister – since it had not yet been applied – if Spain were to go ahead on this basis, it would be breaking the law.
The EC president spoke to Rajoy by telephone at around midday today (Monday) to find out Spain's position over the dispute, having had a similar conversation with British prime minister David Cameron on Friday.
“The Commission hopes that the UK and Spain will discuss the matter in the way we would expect two European Union member states to do. It is up to them to find a solution and overcome their obstacles,” stated EC spokesman Olivier Bailly.
Bailly adds that the telephone conversations with both Rajoy and Cameron were 'similar in nature' and that they have asked both heads of State to 'respect the applicable EU laws' and that 'any toll or tax to cross borders between two EU member States would be illegal'.
“There are elements of European law that certain countries need reminding of,” Bailly said rather pointedly in a press conference.
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