x404.co.uk
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/

Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=19596		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  pcernie [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 6:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23567976

:roll:
Author:  l3v1ck [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 7:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
Let's apply their own fee to flights to Spain and kill their tourist industry overnight.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 7:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
Would they be able to impose fees without breaching EU rules on freedom of movement?
Author:  l3v1ck [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
I don't think Gibraltar is part of the EU is it?
Author:  jonbwfc [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
l3v1ck wrote:
I don't think Gibraltar is part of the EU is it?

To quote wikipedia..

Quote:
Gibraltar is part of the European Union, having joined via the Single European Act 1972 and British Treaty of Accession in 1973, with exemption from some areas such as the Customs union and Common Agricultural Policy ... After a ten-year campaign for the right to vote in European elections, since 2004 the people of Gibraltar have participated in elections for the European Parliament as part of the South West England constituency.


They're part of the EU. EU citizens have a right to freedom of movement across the border. Spain would have to back down if pushed, as I can't see them wanting to pick a fight with the EU council right now.
Author:  l3v1ck [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
I'm pretty sure the Falklands aren't part of the EU.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
l3v1ck wrote:
I'm pretty sure the Falklands aren't part of the EU.

That would be pretty nonsensical yes. But it would be interesting to see if a Falklands resident could force the UK government to apply EU rulings to them as British citizens.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 11:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
jonbwfc wrote:
Would they be able to impose fees without breaching EU rules on freedom of movement?

It could be viewed as the same as the airline tax. That is a tax on travel.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
I'm sure they would argue that. The counter-argument being that a charge of such size is a defacto block, stopping those who (for example) live in Gibraltar but work in Spain or vice versa from doing so. The EU won't want to allow this through because if they do, every other cash-strapped EU state (e.g. Greece, Italy etc) will immediately follow suit in the hope of earning some much-needed funds. Imagine if Italy decided to charge 50 euros on everyone crossing it's Alpine border in the skiing season...

They can't let that floodgate open, it's that simple. If they do the free movement rules will be finished quite soon.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
jonbwfc wrote:
I'm sure they would argue that. The counter-argument being that a charge of such size is a defacto block, stopping those who (for example) live in Gibraltar but work in Spain or vice versa from doing so. The EU won't want to allow this through because if they do, every other cash-strapped EU state (e.g. Greece, Italy etc) will immediately follow suit in the hope of earning some much-needed funds. Imagine if Italy decided to charge 50 euros on everyone crossing it's Alpine border in the skiing season...

They can't let that floodgate open, it's that simple. If they do the free movement rules will be finished quite soon.

It also acts against the principle of freedom of movement of workers. The fact that air travel is a huge carbon emitter is not the same as walking across a border. I think that the airline tax should apply to the flight not the passenger. So high capacity flights will actually mean lower tax for the passenger. Walking or cycling across a border should not be taxed the same way.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
It would be interesting to see how the charge, should it come in, will be administered. if it was a flat rate per vehicle, there'd be a fair profit to be made running 'park and ride' services into Gibraltar. The place is small enough you could probably walk pretty much anywhere there once you're through. Fifty Euros for a coachful... charge each passenger 2 euros per head each way you're probably making 40-60 euros per return trip in profit.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
jonbwfc wrote:
It would be interesting to see how the charge, should it come in, will be administered. if it was a flat rate per vehicle, there'd be a fair profit to be made running 'park and ride' services into Gibraltar. The place is small enough you could probably walk pretty much anywhere there once you're through. Fifty Euros for a coachful... charge each passenger 2 euros per head each way you're probably making 40-60 euros per return trip in profit.

I suspect that this is basically the Spanish government trying to embargo Gibraltar, this is almost certainly for the domestic market. The economy is still deteriorating and they need to distract the electorate from domestic problems like the corruption scandal that currently is hitting the Spanish Prime Minister.
Author:  hifidelity2 [ Tue Aug 06, 2013 8:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
Amnesia10 wrote:
jonbwfc wrote:
It would be interesting to see how the charge, should it come in, will be administered. if it was a flat rate per vehicle, there'd be a fair profit to be made running 'park and ride' services into Gibraltar. The place is small enough you could probably walk pretty much anywhere there once you're through. Fifty Euros for a coachful... charge each passenger 2 euros per head each way you're probably making 40-60 euros per return trip in profit.

I suspect that this is basically the Spanish government trying to embargo Gibraltar, this is almost certainly for the domestic market. The economy is still deteriorating and they need to distract the electorate from domestic problems like the corruption scandal that currently is hitting the Spanish Prime Minister.

Some Spanish newspapers have been sying that - it takes away the press reporting on the real stories
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Aug 06, 2013 9:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
hifidelity2 wrote:
Amnesia10 wrote:
jonbwfc wrote:
It would be interesting to see how the charge, should it come in, will be administered. if it was a flat rate per vehicle, there'd be a fair profit to be made running 'park and ride' services into Gibraltar. The place is small enough you could probably walk pretty much anywhere there once you're through. Fifty Euros for a coachful... charge each passenger 2 euros per head each way you're probably making 40-60 euros per return trip in profit.

I suspect that this is basically the Spanish government trying to embargo Gibraltar, this is almost certainly for the domestic market. The economy is still deteriorating and they need to distract the electorate from domestic problems like the corruption scandal that currently is hitting the Spanish Prime Minister.

Some Spanish newspapers have been sying that - it takes away the press reporting on the real stories

TBH our government is just as bad in trying to hide bad news.
Author:  pcernie [ Thu Aug 08, 2013 8:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Spain considers Gibraltar border fee
Gibraltar visit for Royal Navy warship is routine, says MoD

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23624715

:lol:
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
https://www.phpbb.com/