A cross-party delegation of British MPs will visit Gibraltar this week as it celebrates its National Day amid increased tensions with Spain.
The milestone on September 10, which commemorates the day in 1967 the British Overseas Territory (BOT) held its first referendum on British citizenship, comes as the diplomatic row with Spain over an artificial reef continues to drag on.
European Commission inspectors are due to visit the border later this month to assess the legality of stringent traffic checks introduced by Madrid, which have led to queues lasting several hours for traffic crossing to and from the rocky outcrop at the mouth of the Mediterranean.
The group of MPs including Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes will visit along with peers and MEPs for a series of meetings, the Gibraltar Government said.
Representatives of eight other BOTs, including the Falkland Islands, will also be in Gibraltar for the event. Commonwealth MPs have become the latest group to back Gibraltar and criticise Spain’s manoeuvring in the row over fishing rights.
Spain has imposed strict checks on traffic at the border with Gibraltar
A motion presented to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Johannesburg by Gibraltarian Minister Samantha Sacramento was passed by MPs from across the world. The resolution adopted reads: “This Assembly notes with concern the reports of continuing harassment of Gibraltar by Spain, including the creation of lengthy delays at the land frontier between the two countries, the threat of imposing air restrictions and numerous maritime incursions into Gibraltar’s waters by the naval and para-military agencies of the Spanish state and considers that this political pressure on Gibraltar is totally unacceptable and that it must cease immediately.”
Spain imposed strict checks on traffic at the border with Gibraltar in protest at the creation of an artificial reef. The Spanish say the 74 concrete blocks on the seabed disrupt an area used by its fishing boats, while the Gibraltarians say it was a necessary environmental measure.
The row, which started at the beginning of this month, has gone all the way to the European Commission, which will send a team to assess the legality of the border checks later this month.