Toll not an isolated incident
Gibraltar's GSLP-Liberals have warned that La Linea Mayor Alejandro Sánchez’s toll on vehicles is part of "a wider campaign which reaches many fronts", which includes an attempt to designate Gibraltar's territorial waters as Spanish under EU environmental legislation as well as increased incursions into local waters and airspace by the Spanish Navy and the Guardia Civil.
A GSLP / Liberal spokesman said the mayor's action had to be seen against a background of hostility and anti-Gibraltar measures which have already been taken by the Spanish government. He warned that Mayor Sanchez, who belongs to the Partido Popular, had been encouraged by polls which indicate that the PP, which takes a hard line against Gibraltar, could win the next general election.
Spanish unions against toll
Meanwhile across the border, the unions Unite, Comisiones Obreras and UGT categorically rejected the Mayor of La Linea's plans for a frontier toll on vehicles coming in and out of Gibraltar at a meeting over the weekend.
The three unions agreed on a series of measures to counteract Mayor Sánchez's initiative, while noting the "negative social and economic repercussions that his proposal could have." The unions also urged the government in Madrid to "take whatever executive legal and political steps necessary to prevent implementation of the toll road." They also called for economic development programmes for the Campo de Gibraltar and particularly La Linea.
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