HM GOVERNMENT OF OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER No 6 Convent Place Gibraltar

PRESS RELEASE

No: 769/2012

Date: 21 st November 2012

Garcia meets EU Commission over frontier delays

Yesterday, the Government took the issue of the frontier delays direct to the European Commission and to the during a series of meetings in Strasbourg. The Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, raised the matter during a meeting with the European Commissioner responsible for the Customs Union and Taxation, Algirdas Semeta.

Accompanied by the Government's Chief Legal Officer Michael Llamas and Personal Assistant Caine Sanchez, Dr Garcia has returned to Gibraltar from Strasbourg today.

In a dossier submitted to the Commission, it was made clear that the delays occur primarily as a result of the Customs procedure that Spain implements at the border. This means that vehicles are often stopped and searched in the green channel, in a way which causes tailbacks to traffic, instead of being pulled to one side. The controls are therefore disproportionate.

Moreover, the fact that there is only one green channel for cars leaving Gibraltar creates a bottleneck effect for traffic. The dossier also says that there is a need for more crossing points.

It includes statistical data showing the average queuing time and the maximum queuing time for each day this year. A number of photographs of queues of vehicles and pedestrians have also been submitted, along with a plan of the frontier area and a map of Gibraltar showing the extent of the queues of 14 October 2012.

Dr Garcia also took the opportunity to discuss a number of Gibraltar-related taxation matters with the Commissioner and, in addition, he held meetings with a number of members of the European Parliament of different nationalities and belonging to different parliamentary committees. In particular, a number of Gibraltar issues were discussed with Sir Graham Watson the MEP for and Gibraltar who is also the Leader of the wider European Liberal party outside the Parliament.

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Tel: (350) 200 70071 Centrex: 3261; Fax: (350) 200 59271 Centrex: 3262; e-mail: [email protected]

The question of on-line gaming was the subject of several meetings. The EU's objectives in this field were discussed with the Parliament's rapporteur Conservative Ashley Fox MEP, who coincidentally also represents SW England and Gibraltar. There was also a separate discussion with the former rapporteur, a German Liberal MEP, which provided an understanding both of the procedures and of the recommendations that had been made in the past. On-line gaming is a priority for the Government.

Guy Verhofstadt, the Leader of the Alliance of and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and former Prime Minister of Belgium, formally welcomed Dr Garcia from the podium as Deputy Chief Minister to a meeting of the parliamentary group.

Commenting on the visit, Dr Garcia said:

"I have visited the EU institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg many times over the years. This is my first visit to Strasbourg in Government. It is clear that some contacts made over the past twenty years have become very relevant to Gibraltar today.

The visit to Strasbourg has proved to be very useful. A number of matters now need to be followed up. This was the product of an excellent programme which was prepared for the Government at very short notice by the office of Sir Graham Watson and I am very grateful for this assistance and support."

Tel: (350) 70071 Centrex: 3261; Fax: (350) 59271 Centrex: 3262; e-mail: [email protected]