Notes of tension have crept into the ongoing EU-UK talks for a treaty on Gibraltar over the past fortnight.
Delays by Spain in granting the necessary certification for household waste removal across the border, and similar issues surrounding local hauliers prompted an immediate reaction from No 6 restating its commitment to the principle of a reciprocal frontier regime.
Reciprocity in this context would merely replicate the blockade on one side of the border on the other side, thus asphyxiating the economy in both directions.
However seasoned observers of these type of diplomatic processes attribute such glitches to tactical posturing as the decisive phase of the negotiations comes into sharp focus and believe nothing further should be read into it.
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07-03-22 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR