§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 10 April (WA 11–12), whether the Prime Minister agreed at the Lisbon European Council that the proposed Takeovers Directive was to be expedited; and, if not, who gave the relevant consent on behalf of the United Kingdom, what is the one point concerning the application of the Directive to Gibraltar which is delaying its agreement, and what other European Union instruments are currently delayed on this issue. [HL2098]
§ The Minister for Science, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)The Prime Minister consented to the inclusion of a statement in the Presidency Conclusions to the Lisbon European Council calling for a rapid resolution to the issue which has delayed formal adoption by the member states of the Takeovers Directive. The text of the directive was agreed by the member states in June last year. Formal adoption of the text has been delayed pending resolution of a Spanish objection to the designation of competent authorities in Gibraltar for the purposes of the directive.
On 19 April 2000, Official Report, col. 499W-500W, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs announced that, following extensive consultation with the Government of Gibraltar and with their support, the UK has successfully concluded discussions with Spain to overcome difficulties that have arisen on a number of issues within the European Union concerning Gibraltar, including the question of competent authorities. In addition to the Takeovers Directive, other EU instruments which have been delayed on this issue include a proposal for a Council regulation on insolvency proceedings, a proposal for a Council regulation concerning the establishment of "Eurodac" for the comparison of fingerprints of applicants for asylum and certain other aliens, a proposal for a Council regulation on the service in member states of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters, proposals for directives on the reorganisation and winding-up of credit institutions and insurance undertakings, a proposal for a regulation on the recognition and enforcement of court decisions in matrimonial matters (Brussels II), and the Draft Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Between the Member States of the European Union. In addition, there are a number of other measures which have been implemented but whose practical application in respect of Gibraltar have been impeded by this issue. These include the Second Banking Co-ordination Directive; the Third 218WA Directive relating to life and non-life insurance, and related earlier insurance directives; and the 1968 Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.
The conclusion of the discussions with Spain also means that, subject to formal agreement by our EU partners, the way is now clear for the participation by the United Kingdom, including Gibraltar, in significant elements of police and judicial co-operation under Schengen.
The new arrangements do not resolve problems over EC aviation legislation, which raise issues relating to Gibraltar airport, rather than the competent authority issue. Instruments concerning aviation which are currently delayed are the Aviation Statistics Regulation, the Council Regulation Establishing Common Rules for a Denied-boarding Compensation System in Scheduled Air Transport, the Draft Protocol on the EC's Accession to the Revised 1997 Eurocontrol Convention, and the proposed Directive on Safety Assessments of Third Country Aircraft (Ramp Checks).