§ Baroness EMMET of AMBERLEYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will confirm that they will welcome and support any Spanish application to join the EEC or NATO as soon as Spain has a democratic form of government.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)My Lords, the question of Spanish membership of the EEC or NATO has not yet arisen, and Her Majesty's Government are not solely responsible for the formation of Community or NATO policy towards Spain. But I am sure that once genuine democracy has been achieved in Spain, any application by the democratically elected Government to join either organisation would receive sympathetic consideration from Her Majesty's Government and other interested Governments.
§ Baroness EMMET of AMBERLEYMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that encouraging Answer. Will he agree with me that anything that can be done to encourage the Iberian Peninsula countries to join with the Western Powers is to the good of Europe, and that it might ease, though not resolve—because only time will do that—the Gibraltar situation?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, the answer to the first part of the noble Baroness's question is definitely, yes. In answer to the second part, one greatly hopes that such an arrangement in Europe would help to stabilise the Gibraltar question.