Working in Gibraltar, living in Spain

The article relates the experiences of an Irish citizen that has always had a special feeling for visiting Latin America (therefore he learns Spanish), although his professional experience in Venezuela does not flourish because of the worldwide crisis. He is forced to return to Europe, finding a job in Gibraltar. Among the different options that the main character has to select from, he chooses one which, in his opinion, offers the best of both worlds: working in Gibraltar and living in Spain.

As a result, he lives various conflicts between the Spanish and Gibraltar authorities, whose stressful moment came last summer when police checks were causing delays of several hours to enter and leave the Rock (as well as a fee of 50 euros was charged to anyone crossing the border). The main character says that these measures were justified by the Spanish authorities because of the increasing smuggling between Gibraltar and Spain, claiming that this is a problem that everyone knows and has always existed.

The author thinks that behind these measures there is the confrontation over the sovereignty of the Rock and the growing strength of the Gibraltar economy. Of course these, in my opinion, are the reasons behind the clashes over the rock (economic, political, etc.), to which I add that Gibraltar is one of the ‘favourite’ government topics in order to distract the public scrutiny (if the economy is bad, we speak about Gibraltar, if there is corruption, we talk about abortion…)

The article gives a different perspective of a traditional problem that stems from the British property of the Rock that every so revives causing a wave of diplomatic conflicts between the two countries. In my opinion, both countries, through honest negotiation, should solve this historical problem, but like everything that should solve the current political class, will last for several more centuries, while there is no real will to solve it.

For more information: http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/generationemigration/2013/11/25/working-in-gibraltar-living-in-spain/