Gibraltar — House of Commons, 2015-01-08
Topic: International Affairs
Richard Geoffrey James Ottaway (Conservative, Centre-right): I beg to move, That this House notes the Second Report from the Foreign Affairs Committee, Gibraltar: Time to get off the fence, HC 461, and the Government response, Cm 8917; endorses the Committee’s position that the behaviour of the current Spanish government towards Gibraltar is unacceptable; regrets that trilateral dialogue between the UK, Gibraltar and Spain remains suspended; believes that the time has come for more concerted action; and invites the Government to review its policy towards Spain on Gibraltar This motion stands in my name and that of the hon. Member for Ilford South (Mike Gapes). It invites the Government to review their policy towards Spain and their dispute with Gibraltar. Gibraltar is a key strategic asset for Britain and its allies. It has provided employment and prosperity to the region for decades. It is steeped in history and is a notable tourist centre Gibraltar has, by extension, been a part of the European Union since the UK joined in 1973. Its membership is accepted in international law, and it is represented in the European Parliament by MEPs from the south-west region. Last year, its football team played its first European football match Gibraltar has inevitably been a source of controversy, but it faces a crisis that we all thought was behind us when Spain joined the EU in 1989. The fact is that Spain, a fellow member of the EU and a partner in NATO, is deliberately as a matter of policy undermining the economy of Gibraltar—a British overseas territory. Its hostile behaviour cannot be ignored any longer. Spain’s chosen method is aviation policy and random, unnecessary and superfluous searches of people and vehicles on the border causing, at times, delays of up to six hours or more Ironically, the impact is felt on both sides of the border. Up to 10,000 Spanish workers cross the border each day to work in Gibraltar. If someone is running a business and does not know whether the staff will turn up at 9 am or at lunch time, that business suffers. All this has a profound effect on the territory. Visitor numbers have dropped significantly in the last couple of years, with an estimated loss of almost £40 million in tourist expenditure. Interestingly, some of the strongest evidence the Select Committee received was from a Spanish workers’ organisation that was concerned about high unemployment and poverty on the Spanish side of the border. This is an unacceptable situation The UK has the responsibility of safeguarding Gibraltar’s territorial waters and ensuring that it is both treated and respected as a member of the EU. Last July, the Foreign Affairs Committee expressed the view that the Government should take a tougher line. In particular, we recommended that if there were no improvement within six months, the Government should invoke article 259 of the EU treaty for violation of EU obligations on the free movement of people. Six months have elapsed since then, and there are still incidents of long and unnecessary delays on the border—despite the personal intervention of the Prime Minister in conversations with the Spanish Prime Minister at the height of the crisis in 2013. In what I can describe, regrettably, only as a weak response to our report, the Government said that they had not ruled out an article 259 action but would rather leave it to the European Commission to resolve the situation. I hope that the Minister will understand if that response causes some mirthless merriment on these Benches. It could be a long wait. Even worse, the Commission concluded in 2013 that, although the intensity of Spain’s checks was unjustified and it had serious concerns about it, there was no violation of EU law. So in his response to the debate, will the Minister set a deadline for the commencement of action under article 259 The dispute has a 300-year history, but in the last three years, the Partido Popular Government in Spain have taken a more hard-line approach. They have significantly increased pressure on Gibraltar and its people, and the Gibraltarians have suffered. Apart from the border delays, they have had to put up with aggressive maritime incursions, calculated pressure at the EU and the UN and inflammatory rhetoric from Spanish Ministers about Gibraltar’s sovereignty and its economic affairs The difficulties faced by the current UK Government are, in part, a legacy of regrettable decisions made in 2001 to allow joint sovereignty discussions, which raised expectations on the Spanish side. After protests in Gibraltar and an overwhelming referendum supporting continued membership as a British overseas territory, the discussions were dropped Since 2004, the Government have sought to maintain a consistent message—first that no discussions will take place without the consent of the people of Gibraltar, and secondly, sovereignty will not be transferred against their wishes. This is the correct approach, and it should be consistently reaffirmed. This double lock has provided Gibraltar with security following a difficult period, and this guarantee of self-determination should never be abandoned again Also since 2004, consultations have taken place through a trilateral forum with Spain and Gibraltar. In 2006, the meeting held in Cordoba resulted in agreement on a number of issues—in particular on air movements, recognition of Gibraltarian dialling codes and improved flows at the border. It was also agreed that the UK could pay pensions to Spanish workers affected by Franco’s closure of the border from 1969 to 1982. This is projected to cost the UK taxpayer £73 million Following the election of Prime Minister Rajoy in November 2011, however, the trilateral talks have been summarily ended by Spain and some of the terms of the Cordoba agreement have been broken, although the UK, I am proud to say, is keeping its side of the bargain and meeting the agreed pension arrangements. Efforts have been made to hold ad hoc talks, but none have taken place. If a date has still not been fixed, I invite the Minister to assess whether we are being taken for a ride here and whether this might be telling him something—that Spain thinks we are a soft touch Meanwhile, the illegal incursions into Gibraltar’s territorial waters continue. These incursions are outside the right of safe passage and now number hundreds since their escalation in 2012. The Spanish vessels making the incursions, which include police vessels, refuse to recognise the authority of the Royal Gibraltar police or, more seriously, the Royal Navy. The aggressive tactics used, resulting in collisions and a danger of serious injury, make it difficult, if not impossible, for the police and the Royal Navy to enforce their authority and British sovereignty At worst, there is a danger of a potentially serious incident at sea. Are we going to respond, or are we just a soft touch? Has the Minister considered arresting a Spanish vessel? The Royal Navy has two patrol boats—quite ageing, but they are still working—and three ribs under the commander of British forces in Gibraltar. Will the Minister confirm in his response—this is important to many people—that there will be no reduction in this deployment? We welcome the increased number of warships transiting via Gibraltar, but we believe that there should be a more robust approach to defending Gibraltar’s territorial waters The Foreign Office rightly makes diplomatic protests about each incursion, but we were dismayed to discover that they are lodged sometimes weeks after the event. I welcome the Government’s confirmation that a maximum of seven days is now the norm and that an immediate summons of the ambassador applies in serious cases. The Government describe summoning as a "very serious form of diplomatic protest" and rightly summoned the ambassador to protest over traffic delays at the border. To digress for a second, that is in stark contrast to the Foreign Office’s refusal to summons the Chinese ambassador when the Foreign Affairs Committee was banned from entering Hong Kong. I am not sure what that tells us about the Foreign Office’s attitude towards the House Spain is now engaged in a full-on diplomatic offensive, using international institutions to manifest its hostility to Gibraltar’s sovereignty. In the EU, it has broken terms of the Cordoba agreement and is seeking to exclude Gibraltar from EU aviation legislation.