Press Release: Government of Gibraltar,
Office the Chief Minister
EUROPEAN BORDERS
AGENCY
On Tuesday evening the Foreign Office has informed
the Gibraltar Government that the UK has agreed to a limited participation
in the European Borders Agency, on an operational co-operation
basis, but without Gibraltar whose exclusion from the Regulation
has been demanded by Spain. This marks a complete departure from
the position firmly adopted by successive UK Governments, including
the current UK Government, that as a matter of fundamental principle,
the UK would not accept any suspension or exclusion of Gibraltar
from EU external borders measures, including this one.
As explained by the Gibraltar Government in
the House of Assembly at the last question time, the British Government
applied for the UK itself to participate in the European Borders
Agency Regulation in full and as of right. This was rejected by
the EU on the grounds that the Agency was a Schengen external
borders measure and the UK had opted out of Schengen external
borders measures. The UK rejects that decision, in respect both
of itself and Gibraltar, and has informed the Gibraltar Government
that it will challenge that decision in the ECJ. The UK claims
that as it is not a participant in the decision to set up the
Agency it cannot decide how it applies, including Gibraltar's
exclusion. The UK has no vote or veto on the matter.
Notwithstanding all of this, the Gibraltar Government's
position has been that, even if the UK participated only as an
external co-operator, and not fully as of right, it should ensure
that Gibraltar could participate with the UK to the same extent
as the UK did. All this was explained in the House of Assembly
as well.
The Gibraltar Government is disgusted at the
UK Government's apparent intention to participate in the Agency,
on an operational co-operation basis, but accepting that this
does not apply to Gibraltar.
HMG continues to assert that it is Gibraltar's
right to participate with UK, if and when the UK's own right to
participate as of right and as a full member is established.
The Gibraltar Government takes a very serious
view of this unacceptable development in an area which relates
to the crucially important issue of external frontiers. This is
how our systematic exclusion from aviation measures began. The
Gibraltar Government is not willing to sit idly by and see the
history of our exclusion from EU aviation measures repeat itself
in the area of external frontiers.
The UK is not expecting to conclude these unacceptable
arrangements until September. If they materialise as above, the
Gibraltar Government will mount such immediate legal challenge
in the UK Courts as it may be advised it can.
Commenting on this development Chief Minister
Peter Caruana said:
"The British Government has ridden rough
shod over all our arguments and pleas not to participate without
us. It is disingenuous for HMG to pretend that its participation,
albeit not as a full member, in a measure that contains language
excluding Gibraltar, is not severely prejudicial to us now and
in the future in relation to other external frontiers measures.
The external borders regime will ultimately express the physical,
geographic definition of the EU. This early, first precedent for
our exclusion from an external frontiers measure will be hugely
damaging to the UK's ability to secure our inclusion in this and
future external frontiers measures. This is precisely what happened
in respect of the Airport and EU aviation measures".
No.163/2004
30 July 2004
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