Letter from the Government of Gibraltar,
Office of the Chief Secretary, Gibraltar
We understand that the Committee has expressed
a wish to receive evidence relating to Gibraltar in the context
of Frontex.
Much to Gibraltar's extreme disappointment Gibraltar
has been excluded from the ambit of Frontex.
Article 12(3) of the European Borders Agency
Regulation (EU Regulations) provides as follows:
"The application of this Regulation to the
borders of Gibraltar shall be suspended until the date on which
an agreement is reached on the scope of the measures concerning
the crossing by persons of the external borders of the Member
States".
Accordingly we are excluded even from the UK's
limited current participation under Article 12 (operational co-operation).
We have expressed to the UK our severe concern
that if the UK applies to participate more fully in Frontex, then
Spain will demand our exclusion as a condition of agreeing to
the UK's wider participation. Gibraltar's exclusion is Spain's
publicly stated objective. The Government of Gibraltar has been
advised that such exclusion would be (and our current exclusion
from Article 12(3) is) unlawful. Litigation by Gibraltar is envisaged.
The European Borders Agency Regulation is a
fundamental measure identifying the physical extent of the Union,
and it is politically and legally unacceptable for that to exclude
Gibraltar once the UK participates more fully in it.
We enclose herewith, for the Committee's information:
copies of the following:
[letters: not printed here]; press release:
dated 30 July 2004.
(1) GOG to FCO, dated 22 December 2003
(2) FCO to GOG, dated 6 February 2004
(3) GOG to FCO, dated 1 April 2004
(4) FCO to GOG, dated 16 April 2004
(5) GOG to FCO, dated 28 April 2004
(6) FCO to GOG, dated 17 May 2004
(7) GOG to FCO, dated 23 July 2004
(8) Press Release by GOG dated 30 July 2004
(9) FCO to GOG, dated 3 September 2004
(10) GOG to FCO, dated 18 May 2005
(11) GOG to FCO, dated 31 May 2005
(12) FCO to GOG, dated 24 August 2005
(13) GOG to FCO, dated 6 February 2007
(14) FCO to GOG, dated 24 May 2007
(15) GOG to FCO, dated 17 July 2007
Accordingly, Frontex does not operate in, or
with relation to Gibraltar, either at a practical nor at any other
level. It is not therefore possible for Gibraltar to comment on
the decision making structure of Frontex, and its lines of accountability
or whether Frontex has had an impact in reducing irregular migration.
Gibraltar would wish to be within Frontex, and
be concerned by and participate in the Regulation, to the same
extent as the UK, and believes that its Treaty right to do so
has been violated.
R J M Garcia
Chief Secretary
17 September 2007
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