Why Frontex and the frontier are crunch issues

Frontex has not been plain sailing particularly for Spain's right-wing elements, who have been demanding that Spain's National Police and Guardia Civil should continue to exert controls at the land frontier as otherwise they see Spanish nationalistic interests waning - and the Gibraltar side winning.

Such sources see the land frontier, or what they prefer to call the fence (verja) as an opportunity to make headway in Spain's sovereignty claim. Not to have Spanish security forces exerting controls at the frontier, they see as a lost opportunity because, in a way, it represents recognition that the isthmus, which Madrid claims separately, is growing in its Britishness.

Of course, the UK has always insisted that the British half of the isthmus is obviously not Spanish, and international law would side with the British contention about the isthmus and thus about the Britishness of Gibraltar as a whole.
Of course, from a Spanish right-wing perspective, and it is believed that certain military are also opposed to what they see as a weakening of the Spanish claim.

Such considerations and others, are clouding the installation of Frontex at the frontier, because even if Spain is part of the EU, and we are not, the balance of power is shifting away from Madrid.

But apart from such considerations, there are other factors that come into play when considering what is better or what is worse in the context of the frontier. Improved facilities at the frontier benefit the thousands of workers who come into Gibraltar daily to earn a living - and it is no secret that La Linea and other parts of the Campo area benefit and indeed depend on Gibraltar, to different extents, for their existence.

In a Frontex context, the EU want their police to gain footholds by way of strengthening it, from its current workforce of several hundreds to a policy which sees Frontex growing to some 10,000 border and coast guard officers. Thus, there is a general European interest to make gains at the Gibraltar frontier. Such considerations carry political weight. Effective border control and migration management require cooperation, says Frontex Executive Director.

Certainly, cooperation is a two-way affair And reaching agreement to the benefit of both sides makes Frontex and the frontier a hot potato.

24-01-22 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR