Fees for crossing the border into Gibraltar Jul 25, 2010

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Spain may charge tourists for crossing the border from Spain to Gibraltar. Both pedestrians and drivers might have to pay a toll. The mayor of La Linea, the Spanish town bordering Gibraltar, Alejandra Sanchez, ordered to carry out a research on the legality of such a toll. "Millions of visitors cross the town to get into the British colony each year", he said, mentioning that most of Gibraltar's income comes from visitors from Spain. "Meanwhile, we have 10,000 unemployed in La Linea. This truly intolerable situation cannot continue," he said. According to the mayor's opinion, the central government of Spain sacrificed the interests of the city for the sake of good relations with Great Britain.

This is not the first argument of the mayor with the government of Madrid. Last week mayor Sanchez has already been invited to Madrid by Spain's foreign minister. He was reprimanded for ordering the local police force to halt vehicles crossing into Spain and carry out document checks, an act that caused long delays and was labeled as "harassment" by Gibraltar's government. It's most likely that the mayor who belongs to the right-wing Popular Party takes to heart the strategically important piece of land of the Spanish peninsula. Gibraltar was seized by the British in 1704 and the Spanish ceded sovereignty in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. But Spain has retained a constitutional claim over the territory situated at the gateway to the Mediterranean. Since then the Rock has been a sensitive point in the relations between Spain and Britain. Spain has never refused its intention to get Gibraltar back.

The narrow peninsula, famous for its Barbary Apes, tax-free shopping and impressive views over the Strait to Africa was cut off from Spain in 1969 by Gen Francisco Franco. The fascist dictator closed the border to Gibraltar in 1969 and it was not fully reopened again until 1985, almost ten years after Spain's transition to democracy. Gibraltarians reject the idea of co-sovereignty in a 2002 referendum.