Mayor Franco's confidential document confirms that only Gibraltar smoke gets in their eyes...

Two weeks ago, we reported that with an eye on the forthcoming Brexit talks between Britain, Spain and Gibraltar, the La Linea municipality headed by mayor Juan Franco had produced a confidential document asking for the joint use of the Gibraltar airport, which they say would be a big boost for the La Linea economy.

With the serious problems as regards employment, and the economic dependence on Gibraltar, together with the problems arising from drug trafficking and tobacco smuggling, La Linea's municipality says it seeks other measures as well. 

They want frontier fluidity for persons and goods, as any negative changes would result in great economic concerns for La Linea as well as the downtrend of the Gibraltar economy which could bring about catastrophic consequences.

The document also document says that of the 14,500 frontier workers, as many as 11,000 live in La Linea.

They also want a special fiscal zone.

All that, is now confirmed by a copy of the full document prepared by La Linea mayor Juan Franco having come our way.

Although they recognise that La Linea owes its existence to Gibraltar, Mayor Franco wants more.

At the time of The Queen's visit to Gibraltar, the Spanish government imposed restrictive measures, such as even prohibiting the residence of thousands of Gibraltarians who lived there and then came the full frontier closure with negative effects on the La Linea workforce and even half the population emigrating.

As the Brexit talks get going, the Spanish may well have learnt their lesson once and for all.

The confidential document, which has been sent to Madrid by Mayor Franco, also notes that 25% of the whole Campo area's economy depends on Gibraltar.

Any restrictions on frontier fluidity could result in catastrophic consecuences.

Yet, the mayor is concerned about the pollution of Gibraltar vehicular traffic and how the La Linea coast and waters are affected by landfills on the Gibraltar side. But the land reclamation and smoke from the refinery etc does not seem to be a problem for them.

Only Gibraltar smoke gets in their eyes!

05-02-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR