§ Dr. MarekTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he proposes to take in response to the refusal of the Spanish authorities to allow Commonwealth Parliamentarians access to Malaga Airport from Gibraltar on Friday 14 April as a result of the closure of Gibraltar Airport owing to bad weather. [119808]
§ Mr. VazSpain, like other EU member states, is obliged to impose visa regimes on nationals of countries listed on the EU Common Visa List. Beyond this, the visa policy of other member states is not a matter for the UK.
In response to the problems faced by six members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on 14 April, as a result of their lack of a Schengen visa, our Embassy in Madrid asked the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for assistance in ensuring that these CPA members could travel to Malaga to catch the later flight if that, too, was diverted. Once apprised of the problem, the Foreign Ministry took the necessary action with the Spanish regional authorities. In the event, their assistance was not needed as the flight was able to land in Gibraltar.