Gibraltar: Peter Hain says joint sovereignty plan has 'no negatives at all' Jose Garcia, Gibraltar's deputy first minister, described the practice as "totally inhumane" and a potential violation of European Union citizens rights. "We are collecting individual complaints in case we need to take action on the basis that an individual's rights have been infringed," he told The Guardian. The European Commission, meanwhile, said it would send a "technical mission" to the border in coming months to examine whether Spanish officials were acting unreasonably. Commission officials are also studying the legality of the Spanish government's threat last Sunday to impose a 50 euro border crossing fee. Frederic Vincent, a spokesman for the commission, said that while Spain was entitled to impose controls on the border as Gibraltar was not part of the Schengen Agreement, such measures had to be "proportionate." The latest spat arose out of Spanish objections to Gibraltar starting work on a reef to protect marine life, which Madrid claims will deprive Spanish fishermen of their livelihoods. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said he is "seriously concerned" about the Spanish government's actions, which some claim are to detract from domestic political problems. There is little indication that Mr Hain's plan would be any more acceptable to the current Spanish government, which is ruled by the same right-wing People's Party that rejected the 2002 deal. But the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said that as with the peace process in Ulster, there had to be "give and take" on both sides. He also claimed that the Gibraltarian business community had been very "receptive" to the plan, which would allow an open border and resolve ongoing disputes over air space access, phone access, and "all the things which are bedeviling them at the moment." But his suggestion got little support on the Rock on Tuesday. "I don't believe it could resolve any of the issues on either side," said Robert Vazquez, 61, a Gibraltarian barrister and political blogger. The joint sovereignty plan confuses the ability to have a practical solution for what is in reality an emotional and a nationalistic issue. Nor would it satisfy Spain which is looking for nothing less than revindiction of sovereignty. It is also very difficult to imagine a situation in which Britain would offload one of its territories, considering how many lives were lost in defending the Falklands. Mr Hain's claim that Gibraltar's business community was keen on the idea was also queried by Edward Macquisten, chief executive of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce. "It is safe to say there is not much appetite for revisiting the plan," Mr Macquisten said. We have all the airline access we need already, and we already have a very successful economy based on financial services, the port and tourism.