HL Deb 26 June 1979 vol 400 cc1326-7

2.48 p.m.

Lord BOYD-CARPENTER

My 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 in the light of Spain's prospective membership of the European Economic Community any progress has been made with discussions in respect of the removal of the restrictions on the use of Spanish air space by aircraft using Gibraltar Airport.

Lord CARRINGTON

My Lords, unfortunately, no.

Lord BOYD-CARPENTER

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that lengthy reply and wish him well on his journey to Tokyo. May I ask whether he has reason to believe that the efforts which Her Majesty's present advisers are making to relieve this really quite intolerable situation are likely to be more successful than those of the previous Government?

Lord CARRINGTON

My Lords, I am at the moment reviewing the whole question of our policy in regard to Spain and Gibraltar, and of course this will figure very largely in the review. I am sure that there must be very early efforts to settle the problem.

Lord LEE of NEWTON

My Lords, does the noble Lord remember that there are a great many restrictions which the Franco administration put upon the people of Gibraltar? Are the Government making any advance in getting the Spaniards to lift all those restrictions as a condition of our support for entry?

Lord CARRINGTON

My Lords, I must frankly tell the noble Lord that in the seven or eight weeks since the Government were elected we have not made much advance in this direction. As I told my noble friend, we are reviewing the whole matter. Of course, our relations with Spain and Gibraltar must be viewed in the context of our relations as a whole.

The Earl of ONSLOW

My Lords, is it not extremely important that Spain—now that it has become a democracy—should be encouraged to stay that way and should be eventually welcomed into Europe as a new Member? Does that not mean that we must deal with the matter delicately and try to understand some of the Spanish nationalist feelings over Gibraltar which unfortunately clash with British and Gibraltarian nationalist feelings?

Lord CARRINGTON

My Lords, in answer to the first part of my noble friend's question, that is why we have wholeheartedly supported the entry and the negotiations about Spain coming into the Common Market. As regards the second part of his question, each of us must understand the other.

Lord SEGAL

My Lords, if the air restrictions are not removed, could Her Majesty's Government not consider resuming the ferry connection between Gibraltar and Algeciras, which would be extremely easy to control?

Lord CARRINGTON

My Lords, if possible, I should like notice of that question.