The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, José Manuel García-Margallo, warned that any possible negotiation on fisheries on the Rock of Gibraltar with the UK depends on the removal of the concrete blocks.
“We’ll discuss fishing issues when the blocks are removed and it is possible to fish under the same conditions as before. We bet on the dialogue and not on a completed deed,” ensured the minister to the newspaper La Razon.
In his opinion, the problem must be addressed by both countries and “with the participation of the competent authorities on an equal footing,” which means the Autonomous Government of Andalusia and Gibraltar.
García-Margallo admitted that “there is a risk of cooling relations between the UK and Spain,” which he described as “priority.”
The Spanish Government assesses the implementation of a congestion fee in Linea de la Concepcion. This fee would be a toll system imposed on users of a transport network in areas where there is a high demand for traffic congestion.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is examining the compatibility of the congestion charge with European regulations, diplomatic sources told the agency EFE.
The Spanish Government commissioned a more detailed study to the State Bar and to the permanent representation in Brussels to be sure about the legality of the measure.
From the result obtained in this way, it will be decided “whether it is politically convenient to establish it or not,” he pointed out.
If it is set, “it would not affect workers, whatever their nationality or place of residence is, and it would be helpful to compensate for the damage affecting the fishermen because the concrete blocks have destroyed traditional fishing grounds,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs clarified.
On the other hand, the main chief of the Fishermen’s Association of La Linea de la Concepcion, Leoncio Fernandez, stated that the fishermen are “willing to take the concrete blocks from the bottom of the sea if they have the support of divers, according to what they have publicly expressed on various television programmes.”
However, the leader acknowledged the situation is “complex” and that “there is little hope for that to occur,” the agency Europa Press reformed.
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