GIB0008 - Evidence on Gibraltar

Follow up written evidence from Rt Hon David Lidington MP, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (GIB0008)

Thank you for the opportunity to present evidence to the Committee on 3 April. I promised to follow up on six questions. I would also like to take this opportunity to correct an error in the transcript of the session.

You asked whether the Governor had been informed about the plan to end the agreement with the Spanish fishermen in 2011. You also asked if I had been informed about the installation of the artificial reef in 2013. I can confirm that the Governor was not informed in advance about the decision on fishing and that neither he nor we were informed about the decision to install the artificial reef. However, I should stress that, as the Committee is well aware, both of these issues fall within the constitutional competence of HM Government of Gibraltar. As I mentioned, the manifesto for Mr Picardo’s GSLP in the 2011 election did include a commitment to enforce Gibraltar’s laws on commercial fishing.

Mr Gapes asked about Gibraltar’s contribution to the balance of competences review. During each call for evidence, I have written to the Chief Minister drawing his attention to the consultation process and inviting HM Government of Gibraltar to contribute. To date, HM Government of Gibraltar has submitted evidence to the reports on Taxation, plus Asylum and Non-EU Migration.

You asked whether we were requiring a higher degree of tax transparency from Gibraltar than from the other Overseas Territories. We are not. The UK and all the Overseas Territories with a financial services industry are committed to continuing to work together to promote the application of high international standards in this area. The only difference between Gibraltar and the other Overseas Territories is that Gibraltar needs to implement certain EU measures in this field.

Sir John Stanley asked about illegal incursions in March and when the appropriate protests were lodged. I attach the details at Annex A. These are all illegal incursions, category A and B under our internal system; the list does not include vessels exercising their right of innocent passage (category C). I have not broken them down between the two categories because, as I stressed to the committee, these categories are purely an internal tool to calibrate our response; they not intended for public use. As I said in my evidence, I recognise this performance is not good enough and have given instructions for the process to be improved. I will be monitoring this to ensure it happens.

You asked about the procedure for voting for members of the Security Council. The UK has a long standing policy of not revealing its voting intentions in UN Security Council elections. We carefully consider all bids on their merits, taking into account candidates’ contributions to the work of the Security Council and to the United Nations more broadly. Elections in the United Nations, such as those to elect non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, are conducted via a secret ballot. Thus, the United Kingdom’s vote is not public.

Finally, Sir John Stanley asked what actions we are taking about the Spanish reservation to the NATO Standard Agreement (STANAG) 1100, which restricts the movement of military ships and aircraft between Gibraltar and Spain. We do regularly make clear to Spain that this is not the sort of impediment that close allies should have to manage. We will continue to make this clear. We will also continue to make clear to NATO partners that Gibraltar is a functioning British base that is able and willing to support deployments. As I said during my evidence, NATO allies can and do use Gibraltar. However, whilst we do address this issue at a bilateral level, we do not raise it at the NATO Council or other NATO bodies. This is in line with the policy of this and previous Governments that NATO is not the appropriate forum for pursuing bilateral disputes.

As I mentioned at the outset, I would also like to take this opportunity to correct an error in the transcript. The number of British visitors to Spain is 14 million annually, not 40 million (Q149 of the transcript).

April 2014

ANNEX A

INCURSIONS BY SPANISH STATE VESSELS DURING MARCH 2014

Date of incursion Date protest delivered

1 March 8 April

3 March 8 April

4 March 8 April

5 March 8 April

6 March 8 April

6 March 9 April

7 March 8 April

11 March 8 April

12 March 8 April

12 March 9 April

13 March 9 April

14 March 8 April

14 March 9 April

16 March 9 April

17 March 8 April

17 March 9 April

19 March 8 April

20 March 8 April

23 March 8 April

24 March 8 April

25 March 8 April

26 March 8 April

28 March 8 April

30 March 1 April

31 March 8 April