SPAIN CHALLENGES GIBRALTAR'S ELECTORAL LAW.

Spain has taken the United Kingdom to the EU's Court of Justice over a law in the British colony of Gibraltar that allegedly breaches the concept of European citizenship, it emerged on July 30. Spain says the law breaks EU Treaty rules by counting the rock's residents as British voters in European elections. The legal challenge is based in Article 227 of the EU Treaty, which allows appeal against non-compliance by other Member States with the obligations incumbent upon them.

The law in question is the European Parliament (Representation) Bill - which was given royal assent on May 8 ahead of the next EU elections scheduled for 2004. The Spanish government is challenging it on three counts:

* it allows non-EU citizens to vote in the poll, since Gibraltar allows residents from other British Commonwealth countries to vote - a right they do not have in the United Kingdom;

* it "affects the concept of European citizenship," by creating "different types of citizens" residing within the EU;

* it redefines the scope of electoral law by including Gibraltar within its ambit.

Because Gibraltar is too small to be designated as a European parliamentary region, it will need to be "attached" to a mainland region. The UK Electoral Commission says the front-runners are London and the...