Gibraltar Rebukes Spanish Road Toll Road Plans

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

18 August 2010

The Gibraltar government has lashed out against plans by neighbouring Spanish province La Linea to implement a road toll tax on vehicles entering and leaving the Rock.

According to the province’s plans, the toll would be implemented within two months, at a rate of around EUR5. Waivers are expected to be granted to residents of La Linea, many of whom commute to Gibraltar for work on a daily basis. The La Linea government has yet to say whether Gibraltar residents would be exempt from the charge.

The Gibraltar government, however, has labelled the move as a political ploy, that will be found to be "wholly unacceptable, both legally and politically." The government said that it had already begun contact with the Spanish central government to discuss the official revocation of the proposals.

In a statement in immediate response to the proposals, the Gibraltar government said:

“The Mayor of La Linea is clearly engaged in a political manoeuvre with his central government, which is unlikely to allow the proposal." The Mayor’s proposals, the government said, contains “a litany of illegalities under European Union Law and probably also under Spanish Law.”

“In the unlikely event that these measures should be introduced, the government will take appropriate steps,” the government affirmed.

Recommended