The recent episode involving four British soldiers who were expelled from Gibraltar back to Spain by Spanish authorities raises more questions than initially expected. According to information obtained by El Periódico de España from the same publishing group and official sources, the men did not simply enter the Schengen area as tourists and present military documents only after police questioning. They crossed from the enclave into La Línea in groups of two, on foot, on three separate occasions within a few hours, before finally being detected. They entered, then left Spain three times on Monday, until night fell and they were identified as servicemen and told to leave for violating the entry rules of the European Schengen space.
The motive behind this repeated comings and goings remains unknown. Local sources recall past incidents where police and military drills have been conducted in the area. Another possibility is that they were testing the permeability of the border. The incident occurred a week after the British Navy conducted high-speed maneuvers involving ships in the waters surrounding the rock, with blank rounds, an activity Spain regards as part of its own waters.
This newspaper has requested information from both the United Kingdom and the Spanish Foreign Ministry, but no response was available at the end of the edition.
Militaries expelled to Gibraltar
The events happened on Monday night and have been reported by Europa Sur and confirmed to El Periódico de España by official sources. They involve four British soldiers who had arrived in Gibraltar aboard a civilian flight and held return tickets for Gibraltar. This allowed them to pose as tourists and enter Spain under that guise, according to Spanish officials. They stayed in a four-star hotel in La Línea de la Concepción, the Cádiz municipality adjacent to the border fence that separates Gibraltar from the Spanish mainland.
Two of the soldiers attempted to return to Gibraltar at night. When Spanish police asked for their purpose, they claimed they were going to work and produced their military documents. Spanish officers then realized the entry had been irregular, since the travelers did not meet the Schengen criteria for non-EU citizens to enter EU territory. The authorities instructed the two to contact the other two still at the hotel so they could gather belongings and return all four to Gibraltar, again according to official sources. It is common for many soldiers stationed nearby to try to lodge in Spanish territory while camouflaging their military status. What had not occurred before was their forced expulsion after already entering Spanish territory.
Negotiations about Gibraltar
The European Union and the United Kingdom are about to begin the eighteenth round of talks on a treaty governing Gibraltar. The negotiations aim to define how the British enclave fits within the Schengen free-movement area, within the framework agreed by London and Madrid on New Year’s Eve 2020. All sides aspire to create a shared prosperity zone with smooth transit of people and goods. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares described the goal as removing the visible barrier of the fence for the time being, while deferring sovereignty claims over the territory.
To achieve this, necessary controls at the port and airport, owned by the British Navy and Air Force respectively but with dual civil use, would need to be established. Several issues remain unresolved, including shared use of Gibraltar Airport and the management of soldiers and military material from the British bases on the Rock.
The British Defense Ministry reports that 952 people are employed in Gibraltar, of whom 528 are civilians: 235 in the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, 28 in the Royal Naval Gibraltar Squadron, 16 in the Royal Air Force Gibraltar, and 145 at the British Forces Gibraltar headquarters. In 2022, ships of the British Army visited Gibraltar 79 times and aircraft 117 times, bringing roughly 12,000 to 14,000 service members to the enclave each year. Among these, the four soldiers expelled recently would be included.
Albares reiterated during Monday’s European Union Foreign Affairs Council that the onus is on the United Kingdom, and Spain has put forward a treaty proposal that London must accept or reject. The British government has stated that multiple proposals exist and must be agreed upon by all parties, according to Europa Press.