The Foreign Office has told GBC that the UK does not rule out taking direct legal action against Spain over the border checks. It says the fact that the Commission has not found evidence that EU law has been infringed is not the same as concluding that Spain has not acted unlawfully, and points out that the border operated significantly more smoothly than normal during the Commission's visit in September.

http://gbc.gi/news/2773/foreign-offi...against-spain-

Some of you may remember that the present border situation kicked off after Gib put concrete blocks in the sea off the North mole / Western beach to help prevent the illegal fishing activities of Spanish fishing boats, in particularly the Divina Providencia which has featured regularly in this present dispute.

Well today "The Captain of the Spanish fishing boat, Divina Providencia, has been fined £600 after admitting to one count of fishing with rakes."

Note the fact admitting, and that it was in the area where the blocks were later placed.

http://gbc.gi/news/2771/divina-provi...ing-with-rakes

Fred, I was talking to some Gibraltar residents the other day who have a bar there and they said that if Gibraltar was to raise the duty on tobacco so that it was the same price as Spain it would kill tobacco smuggling overnight and remove that excuse for border searches. Any thoughts?

Sounds a reasonable assumption.

However Spain would then find another excuse to cause problems so in the long term the situation would not change.

This is nothing to do with tobacco or fishing it is about sovereingty.

Agree Fred. Tobacco smuggling is trivial compared to the smuggling traffic across the straits from Morocco to Algeciras and La Linea. OH used to play golf sometimes with a Drug Enforcement Officer.

The Foreign Office spokesperson has welcomed the Commission’s recommendation that the Spanish government should take measures to ensure that the Gibraltar-Spain border functions efficiently, and the Commission’s commitment to review progress against their recommendations in six months.

"Border delays of up to four hours for vehicles and pedestrians continue to impact on peoples’ lives. Situation remains unacceptable. Welcome the Commission’s recommendations that the Spanish government should take measures to ensure that the Gibraltar-Spain border functions efficiently. We and HM Government of Gibraltar have been saying for years that there are simple measures Spain could and should take, such as increasing the number of lanes and resources at the border, to improve border functioning, and we assume these are the measures Spain has been advised to take.

This is the simple and obvious solution, it would allow Spain to carry out whatever checks she deems necessary without causing the inhuman delays.

But of course this is not what Spain wants

http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=31654

Yes - agree the volume of tobacco smuggling is trivial - but it's an excuse they use.

I'm not so sure it's about sovereignty. I've heard many say that the last thing Spain wants is sovereignty - it would give them all sorts of problems with their own bits of overseas real estate.

It's about distraction from the real issues...

You forget that is "different" every Spaniard would tell you so.

If it was about tobacco then there would be similar problems with the Andorra frontiers.

This trumps an EU ruling


http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&bi...&tx=139&ty=276

arrived this morning

Probably on its way to where it can do some real good, on the anti Pirate patrol off Somalia or to the Philipines.
Protecting Gibs smugglers is hardly a priorty or something the RN will feel proud off.

I've often thought that. Also if the price of fuel was harmonised it would stop those great long queues of people driving in to fill up their tanks.

It's not as if Gib couldn't use the extra tax revenue! They could start with filling in some of the potholes ...

Nope, she has been away from home for 6months or more, Gulf of Hormuz and the Eastern Med and having been at Malta's Rememberance Day will be stopping off in Gib to allow the crew to buy last minute presents for the families they will be seeing in a week ago.

HMS Daring is now berthed in Cebu, Philippines, to provide aid and assistance to the survivors of the typhoon
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...aiyan-aid.html

OK how are you going to do that without causing more problems ( not as it will solve the frontier problem anyway because the last thing Spain wants is a solution )

Will Gib raising it's prices stop people taking excessive amounts of cigs from Spain to the UK or will it cancel out the booze cruises from Dover?

The only fair way would be to harmonize prices across the whole of the EU, so lets have a communist EU?

To harmonise prices Spain would have to increase it's price 3 fold to fall in line with Eire, good idea???

Then what about smuggling from outside the EU that would explode.

Maybe Spain should lower it's prices to fall in line with Gib, that's a simpler solution

RRP packet of 20

Ireland 7.41
UK 6.95
Sweden 5.71
France 5.12
Finland 5.03
Denmark 4.97
Germany 4.47
Netherlands 4.38
Belgium 4.29
Italy 3.99
Austria 3.81
Malta 3.47
Luxembourg 3.47
Portugal 3.47
Spain 3.47
Czech 3.44
Cyprus 3.34
Greece 3.29
Latvia 2.94
Poland 2.84
Slovenia 2.77
Slovakia 2.74
Romania 2.69
Bulgaria 2.65
Lithuania 2.41
Hungary 2.40
Estonia 2.38

http://www.the-tma.org.uk/tma-public...arette-prices/

From a personal point of view I would be happy if tobacco was banned worldwide.

I think your figures are a bit out of date Fred? Perhaps a smoker could confirm, but I think a packet is nearer €5 here now. Not that anyone pays the full price, most of the bars keep smuggled ones from Gib under the counter. It's depriving the govt of a lot of tax revenue, no wonder they are pissed off.

Best way is to ban it worldwide, as you say. Last time I went into Gib (about 2 yrs ago) they were still allowed to smoke in restaurants. Disgusting!

Yes the chart does say "Excise Duty Tables. Part III – Manufactured Tobacco, July 2011"

There is no smoking in restaurants in Gib now and unlike Spain the law is enforced

But who is to say where the undercounter cigs come from, Gib is an easy target due to it's proximity, but a lot of them are unexported exports from Spain.