Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
SPAIN is getting ready to install biometric scanners EES at the Gibraltar Border next month, leaving many wondering about the approval and implementation of the EU-UK Treaty.
In February, the EES will begin to be activated at the Gibraltar Border in trial phases. It is hoped that the system will be fully operational by April along with other systems in EU nations.
Gibraltar residents are not included in this.
Spain is preparing to use the machines and fingerprint systems at La Verja – the physical border crossing that connects La Linea de la Concepcion with Gibraltar – in the next few weeks.
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The activation the scanners during the limbo before the treaty has been ratified and Gibraltar’s border is dismantled may prove to be a problem for Gibraltar.
As it stands the Gibraltar government has reviewed and approved a version of the treaty text but it has not undergone ‘legal cleaning’ by the UK and EU.
This ‘cleaning’ process will see both parties review the exact wording before they give formal approval.
The Gibraltar parliament will vote on and discuss the treaty after legalisation. If it is approved by Gibraltar then the UK will ratify the agreement.
The EU also receives approval from the council of their member states and will vote the treaty at the European Parliament. This will be an agreement that is exclusive to the EU, meaning the confirmation will come from the European parliament and not each member’s national parliament.
This entire process should culminate in ‘weeks, not months’, according to Gibraltar leaders.
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Gibraltar’s acceptance will allow it to act like it’s in Schengen for travel without officially joining, so EES is not required at La Verja.
This is argued to be particularly necessary because of the crowds of people that move through the La Verja border during rush hour every day – while EES is in place, before the treaty is approved, queues are set to grow during peak times.
Spain has not checked Gibraltar resident passports until now, as a gesture of goodwill and not legal obligation.
EES is therefore a possible solution until the treaty comes into force. As mentioned above, it will be in place next month.
On Thursday, representatives from several Spanish government ministries visited La Linea border control which controls the traffic into and out of Gibraltar.
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Carlos Moreno was the Secretary General of the European Union for the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Carlos Rios Miranda Iglesias is the Head of the Central Border Unit of National Police.
The town hall presented a proposal to redesign the current La Verja area and access plans for the airport and the coast.
Doing so to study how new controls will be implemented once the treaty comes into force, the group discussed ‘eliminating physical barriers and improving urban permeability’ and ‘implanting a Plan de Movilidad Transfronteriza CompartidaWalls, payment systems and uniform signsposting are all designed to assist pedestrians.
As the town council has applied to purchase it, the space currently occupied by police equipment and cabins at La Linea will no longer be needed.
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It intends, if granted space, to integrate satellites into the space and promote a cybersecurity project centre, which will be promoted by Carlos Moreira, Julian Fernandez, who are the heads of WISekey, and Fossa Systems, two La Linea-based businessmen.
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