The European Commission is likely to be joining Gibraltar, UK, Spain and the regional authorities from Andalucía at separately held, so called, ‘ad hoc’ talks aimed at resolving fishing and environmental disputes that have dominated the summer, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle Gonzalo de Benito Spain’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The European Commission will send a fact-finding mission to the Gibraltar-Spain border on September 25 to assess Spanish customs controls and their impact on freedom of movement. The date for the mission was confirmed on Wednesday following days of wrangling over the scope of its mandate, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Global efforts to battle trade protectionism need to be reinforced to help shield the fragile economic recovery across the world said a report released on Monday by the European Commission in which it claims Brazil and Argentina are among the main offenders when it comes to import duties hikes and government procurement limitations.
Gibraltar will sidestep an ‘illegal’ Spanish ban on overland cross-border shipments of rock, sand and aggregates by shipping the vital building materials in by sea. The ban was announced at the weekend by the Spanish authorities, which are denying export permission for these commodities and say they are being used to reclaim land in breach of EU environmental rules.
European Commission president Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and Spain’s Mariano Rajoy discussed Gibraltar on the phone and agreed that the Commission should dispatch observers to the border “as soon as possible” to examine controls on the movement of people and goods, the EC said in a statement.
Britain has asked the EU to “urgently” send a team to Gibraltar “to gather evidence” on extra border checks at the centre of a growing row with Spain. PM David Cameron spoke to EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to raise “serious concerns” that Spain's actions are “politically motivated”.
European stock markets mostly rose on Wednesday after official data showed that the Euro zone had finally escaped from a record 18-month recession. The Euro-zone climbed out of recession with surprisingly strong growth of 0.3 percent in the second quarter led by Germany and France, announced the European Union.
The Foreign office and the Gibraltar government confirmed they are collecting a dossier on politically motivated queues at the Spain/Gibraltar border with a view to making a formal complaint to the European Commission.
The European Commission says it has reached an amicable solution with Beijing in a row over imports of Chinese solar panels. Both sides have agreed a minimum price for the panels, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.
The weak state of the French economy and uncertain outlook for budget targets was in focus on Wednesday after official data confirmed that the country is in recession. Weak growth and public finances in France are of acute concern to the European Commission and to Germany which is the main powerhouse in the Euro zone.
The figures are also watched closely on nervous financial markets.