Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs,
22 November 2004
Thank you for your letter of 1 November requesting
a report of my discussions last month with the Spanish Foreign
Minister, Sr Moratinos, about Gibraltar. In particular, you asked
for information about the four areas contained in the annex to
our statement to the press.
Perhaps I should begin by saying that I believe
the decision to explore a new tripartite forum for dialogue over
Gibraltar represents a significant and welcome step forward in
our relations with Spain in this area. In my contacts with Sr
Moratinos over recent months, I have stressed that any meaningful
dialogue over Gibraltar needs to involve directly the people of
Gibraltar. In recognising this, Sr Moratinos has shown an imaginative
and flexible approach, and I am very grateful to him for doing
so. This dialogue will follow an open agenda, with an equal voice
for all three parties.
The Government of Gibraltar has welcomed the
creation of the forum and the conditions for an on-going dialogue.
I spoke with Chief Minister Caruana before my visit to Madrid,
and again during my meeting with Sr Moratinos to ensure that we
secured an agreement that was acceptable to all parties.
The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude for
this in his statement to Gibraltar's House of Assembly on 1 November.
In that same statement, Mr Caruana went on to say, "We believe
that the statement represents a positive outcome for Gibraltar
on terms acceptable to all sides." He concluded that Gibraltar
"greatly welcomes the new climate of relations that is potentially
made possible by these developments."
The joint statement also welcomes greater co-operation
between Gibraltar and the surrounding area in Spain, and includes
the creation of a joint committee between the Government of Gibraltar
and the Mancommunidad del Campo de Gibraltar to take this
forward. I hope that this can now implement practical improvements
of benefit to both communities, in tandem with a three-party dialogue
involving the UK and Spanish Governments.
The four areas to which we referred in our joint
press statement were: an agreement on the airport of Gibraltar
under a formula acceptable to all parties; establishment of a
technical working party to examine and to exchange information
on the pensions issue of Spanish ex-workers in Gibraltar; the
inclusion of Spanish airports as alternative airports in the flight
plans whose final destination is the airport of Gibraltar; and
Spanish permission for cruise liners to call at Spanish ports
when they are also calling at Gibraltar. The first two of these
will obviously be the subject of further discussion, but I should
stress that we envisage dialogue will go beyond these subjects
alone.
The joint statement committed Spain to lifting
definitively all restrictions on cruise ships transiting Gibraltar;
and to allowing the inclusion of Spanish airports as alternative
destinations in the flight plans of aircraft whose final destination
is Gibraltar. I am pleased to tell you that the Spanish Government
has confirmed that both of these commitments have been implemented.
I hope that we can make early progress towards
expanded use of Gibraltar airport, giving Gibraltar and Campo
residents greater access to international flight routes, and explore
the scope for an agreement on developing the airport more fully
in the longer term.
The technical working party on pensions will
provide an opportunity for HMG and the Government of Gibraltar
to explain in detail to the Spanish side the arrangements that
were made in 1996, following the collapse of Gibraltar's Social
Insurance Fund, for payment of pensions to Spanish and Gibraltarian
ex-workers. As you will have noted, the joint statement contained
no commitment, however, to change these arrangements.
In addition to these areas, I hope that the
twin-tracks of three-party dialogue and local co-operation will
also allow us to make progress in time over other issues which
impact on the daily lives of Gibraltarians, including telephones
and border queues. It may also be a chance to explore options
for resolving the current impasse over ratification of the 1996
Hague Convention and related instruments, which has been the subject
of recent correspondence from your Committee.
Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
22 November 2004
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