Some thirty elected officials from 15 affected towns met this Saturday morning at the Coll de Banyulswhere they have signed a manifest to claim the opening of this and the rest of the border crossings with the North Catalonia closed in January 2021. The event was held after the prefect of the Pyrenees Orientales, Rodrigue Furcy, announced that the Coll de Banyuls will not reopen until next year at least, alleging that the conditions to do so are not met. Now, the association Albera Sense Fronteres, organizer of the event, has announced that they will present a contentious before the administrative court of Montpellier for the annulment of the prefectural decree closing the Coll de Banyuls and the other border crossings, reports ACN.
The border crossing between Espolla (Alt Empordà) and Banyuls de la Marenda (Rosselló) It was closed on January 11, 2021 with a row of rocks by order precisely of the Prefecture of the Pirineus Orientals – the representation of the French government in Catalunya del Nord –, which claimed that it wanted to “contain irregular immigration and the terrorist threat”. Before, it had already closed due to the covid pandemic.
This Saturday, deputies in the European, Spanish and Catalan parliaments, senators in Paris and Madrid, regional councilors and mayors of fifteen affected towns have met in the area in an act that has served to report the “nonsense of the situation generated by a unilateral decision of the prefecture”. In addition, they have signed a manifest which collects several points. One of these personalities has been the MEP Clara Ponsatí, who has entered the Spanish State during the act.
Closing questioned
In the first instance, the manifesto considers that “no provision of the Schengen agreements foresees the possibility of closing an authorized passage between two member states of the European Union” and that it has not been shown that closing the Coll de Banyuls passage prevents terrorism and illegal immigration, as maintained by the prefecture.
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In addition, they maintain that closing the border crossing “is a hinder cross-border exchanges“because crossings that have existed for many years have been suppressed. For this reason, the attendees have promised to intervene to the best of their ability to achieve the opening and maintenance of circulation through said crossing and others affected.
For the time being, apart from committing to present a dispute before the administrative court of Montpellier for the annulment of the prefectural decree closing the neck of Banyuls and the other border crossings, the association Albera Sense Fronteres has announced a claim action. It’s about a hiker meeting to be held on Saturday, November 19where centers and clubs from the two slopes of the Albera will participate, which will converge at the top of the Coll de Banyuls.