§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of excluding Gibraltar from the European single sky agreement. [10976]
§ Peter HainWe consider that the commission's proposed Single Sky package offers the best way of reducing delays and improving safety, and is essential for improving the use and management of EU airspace. Spain insisted that Gibraltar airport be suspended from the scope of application of the Single Sky legislative measures. Given the importance which the UK attaches to the initiative, we reluctantly agreed that clauses suspending the application of the measure to Gibraltar airport will be inserted when the proposal is considered by the Council.
Suspending Gibraltar airport in this way from the Commission's proposed measures will have no practical impact on the operation of Gibraltar airport, since the focus of the Commission's proposal is on the organisation and use of the upper airspace and on the management of Europe's air traffic service providers.
We made clear to both Spain and the Commission that our agreement on Single Sky was conditional upon the Commission itself bringing forward a proposal which did not contain the suspension clauses, and on a Council and Commission minutes statement, making clear that suspension does not in any way prejudice the application of the EC Treaty to Gibraltar. Our agreement was also without prejudice to Council discussion of future aviation proposals.
We have agreed a similar formula with regard to the Commission's proposal for a Regulation on aviation security. The Spanish Government made clear that they would not agree to the measure unless Gibraltar airport was suspended. Given the crucial importance of this measure for the EU's wider counter-terrorism agenda, we were not prepared to see progress delayed. Again, we are confident that suspension will have no practical impact on the operation of Gibraltar airport. The main purpose of the proposal is to require member states to enforce ECAC standards of security. We, and the Government of Gibraltar, can still ensure, through separate measures, that Gibraltar airport is subject to at least as high a degree of monitoring and control as other Community airports, without a requirement to do so in Community law.