Gibraltar — House of Commons, 2015-01-08
Topic: International Affairs
Richard Geoffrey James Ottaway (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Indeed, not just United Kingdom aircraft but all NATO aircraft are prevented from overflying Spain if they have taken off from Gibraltar. I shall say more about that later As I was saying, in the European Union, Spain has broken key terms of the Cordoba agreement and is seeking to exclude Gibraltar from EU aviation legislation. That is damaging the economy: I have heard reports of businesses relocating because of poor flight connections. As for Spain’s behaviour at December’s EU Transport Council, it amounted to nothing less than open hostility. Spain persuaded both the presidency and the Commission to amend the draft single European sky legislation on air traffic control to exclude Gibraltar I am pleased that the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill) is present, and I was also pleased to hear that he had walked out of that meeting in protest. I am not sure that we would expect Foreign Office Ministers to walk out of meetings in protest—it is not quite their style—but I hope that the strong way in which my hon. Friend made his protest will have been noted. I should add that it is to the Government’s credit that they have threatened to veto the proposed EU-Ukraine aviation agreement if Gibraltar is excluded from it. However, the real issue, and what is of real concern, is why the Commission has come down on the side of Spain. So much for leaving the Commission to decide on the rights and wrongs of this dispute In the United Nations, Spain continues to lobby against the removal of Gibraltar from the list of non-self-governing territories. As it is obviously not such a territory, it should not be on the list. In May last year, Minister Joe Bassano told a UN special committee that Spain was running a campaign to deprive Gibraltar of its right to self-determination, using the arguments of Franco’s fascist Government. The response was, in the words of Gibraltar’s First Minister—who I am pleased to see is with us today—"a deafening silence". All that is clear evidence of Spain’s politically motivated campaign. I invite the Minister to update us on developments in all those institutions, and, more important, on what the Government’s response will be—or are we just another soft touch In an increasingly troubled world, Spain’s behaviour as an ally is becoming increasingly unreliable. While refuelling Russian warships in its sovereign enclave of Ceuta, it continues to posture inside NATO, at a time when Russia is invading Ukraine and flexing its muscles in the Baltic and the northern approaches. Moreover—this brings me to the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth)—Spain’s ban on NATO forces moving directly between Spain and Gibraltar is immature and to the detriment of western security. If they are landing on or taking off from Gibraltar, the military aircraft of any NATO member are not allowed to overfly Spain In the event of trouble, Spain would quickly turn to NATO and the United Kingdom for military help, and would get it. Perhaps, at the moment, it does indeed think that we are a soft touch. In his evidence, the Minister told the Committee that, in the absence of any diplomatic initiative, the UK’s forces simply work around it. That is completely unacceptable. Will the Government review the issue and enlist the support of other NATO countries in ensuring that this strategically illiterate ban is lifted To date, the Government have sought to de-escalate tensions. That cautious approach is not producing dividends. The Government fear that a more muscular approach will only make things worse, but at times things must get worse before they can get better. If Gibraltar is prepared to accept the consequences of a more robust approach, we should embark on it. In our report, we said that the Government were "sitting on the fence"; in their response, they peevishly said they had "never been on the fence" in the first place. To be fair, however, the Government are continuing the policy that they inherited from the last Government, and the First Minister has acknowledged that the language now is more robust than it has been for 30 years. Spain is a key partner for the United Kingdom, both bilaterally and in the EU and NATO. It is testimony to the importance that both states ascribe to the bilateral relationship that it remains strong, despite our differences. However, Spain should not be able to pursue aggressive policies towards Gibraltar without consequences for its relationship with the UK. The UK Government have shown restraint in response to provocation by Spain. The hard truth is that the UK’s approach of consistently trying to de-escalate tensions in the face of mounting provocation has had little discernible effect, apart from giving Gibraltarians the impression that not enough is being done. It is now time to end the policy of restraint and to think hard about what measures can be taken to discourage Spain from exerting pressure on Gibraltar in the future.