Gibraltar (Hansard, 3 April 2002)

§ Mr. Dodds
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what action Her Majesty's Government have taken to prevent ill-treatment of Gibraltarians at the Gibraltar-Spain border; [43430]
(2) what recent reports he has received about (a) the nature and (b) the extent of problems experienced by Gibraltarians resulting from Spanish border authorities. [43429]

§ Peter Hain
Ministers and officials have raised our concerns about border delays on numerous occasions with their Spanish counterparts, including during the Brussels Process talks. We have also raised our concerns with the European Commission on several occasions.
The Commission announced on 19 March the closure of its investigation into restrictions at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, having concluded that there was no evidence to legally support claims that the checks carried out by the Spanish authorities … are disproportionate and therefore incompatible with Community law".
The Spanish Government also confirmed on 19 March that in response to requests made by the UK during the Brussels Process talks a new second channel would be opened, aimed at significantly speeding up the passage of private vehicles across the border between Spain and Gibraltar. The new channel became operational on 21 March. We welcome this.

§ Mr. Spring
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with the European Commission on its recent investigation into Spanish/Gibraltarian border restrictions. [45472]
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§ Peter Hain
[holding answer of 26 March]: Ministers and officials have raised our concerns about border delays on numerous occasions with their Spanish counterparts, including during the Brussels Process talks. We have also raised our concerns with the European Commission on several occasions.
The Commission announced on 19 March the closure of its investigation into restrictions at the border between Gibraltar and Spain, having concluded that there was no evidence to legally support claims that the checks carried out by the Spanish authorities … are disproportionate and therefore incompatible with community law".
The Spanish Government also confirmed on 19 March that in response to requests made by the UK during the Brussels Process talks a new second channel would be opened, aimed at significantly speeding up the passage of private vehicles across the border between Spain and Gibraltar. The new channel became operational on 21 March. We welcome this.