Post by account_disabled on Feb 18, 2024 3:58:44 GMT -5
The Government has approved the creation of a macro-customs office on the Gibraltar fence, with the aim of dealing with the queues that currently form with the controls carried out by the Police and Civil Guard. The project, which has already started, has a budget of 5 million euros and includes the construction of six exit lanes towards the Rock. As El Confidencial Digital has learned , the conversion of the current customs office, located in La Línea de la Concepción, has been planned by the Tax Agency , dependent on the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of the Interior . Both departments have been working since the end of summer on planning the works, which have already begun. The total renovation of the fence surroundings will be carried out in eight phases, which will conclude at the end of next year. The most significant change with respect to the current customs crossing will be the incorporation of three exit lanes towards Gibraltar , instead of the two that exist today and that cause the queues reported by the Rock. Greater control in the flow of goods In addition to the six lanes, the new customs will incorporate a new control point and, a few meters further on, another identification post , which will mean that departures to Gibraltar will have greater monitoring by the Police and the Civil Guard.
To this must be added the installation of a new marquee for the agents. In the coming months, a garage will also be built for the 'Medusa' scanner van , which has already been used at the fence since the end of 2013 to prevent the passage of Phone Number List smuggled tobacco from one side of customs to the other. In addition, an area will be set up for detained vehicles , with the aim of carrying out inspections with more precision. On the other hand, the current police offices will also be demolished to construct new buildings for both bodies, in addition to a permanent headquarters for the Tax Agency. On the Gibraltar side , the sources consulted explain, the number of lanes will also be expanded, going from three to four , and dividing these into two green and two red: the first for simple identification and the second for scanning vehicles. Spain's response to Brussels inspectors According to sources from the Tax Agency consulted by ECD, the approval of this project is the Government's response to the report presented by the inspectors sent by Brussels to Gibraltar last September. Representatives of the EU Home Affairs Commission asked Spain and the Rock for measures to combat queues at the gate. The Government confirms that all the specifications, plans and reports for the project are already in the hands of the European Commission, which received all the documentation "at the end of March or beginning of April" . The town council of La Línea, led by socialist Gemma Araújo , is also up to date with the works at customs.
The central campaign themes of Miguel Arias Cañete and Elena Valenciano will be present in the first face to face of the candidates that will be held this Tuesday. The economy and social policies will be the main blocks of the debate that María Casado will moderate. The leaders of the PP and PSOE lists will also debate rights and freedoms, electoral proposals by sector, and the future of the EU. As sources from both parties have confirmed to El Confidencial Digital , the thematic blocks were negotiated last weekend between the PP and PSOE campaign managers. Carlos Floriano and Óscar López have designed a debate, together with TVE, that will consist of five thematic blocks. In the first two, lasting twelve minutes, the fundamental issues on which both parties have based their campaign will be debated: the economy (the main argument of the PP in all its rallies), and social policies (which are always Elena Valenciano refers from the electoral pre-campaign). Afterwards, the consulted sources explain, there will be a three-minute break, in which the candidates will be able to finalize the details of their speech on the rest of the thematic blocks: proposals by sector; rights and freedoms; and the model and future of the European Union that each head of the list defends. Only face to face between Cañete and Valenciano Tuesday's will be the only face to face between the candidates of the two majority parties in Spain, which is why PP and PSOE consider this debate "fundamental" for the future of the electoral campaign.