§ Mr. GroganTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs further to his answer of 30 April 2002 to the hon. Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble),Official Report, column 651W, if he will make a statement on the meeting between the Minister for Europe and his Spanish counterpart on 2 May. [54915]
§ Peter HainAs I informed the House on 30 April 2002, Official Report, column 651W, I met my Spanish counterpart in London on 2 May. We had a friendly and constructive meeting. We made further progress. Substantial difficulties remain. We remain committed to reaching an agreement if possible.
§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what requests his Department has made since 10 December 2001 for information concerning smuggling between Gibraltar and Spain; [54182]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of information it has received prior to 10 December 2001 concerning smuggling between Gibraltar and Spain; [54184]
(3) when his Department last received information from the Spanish authorities concerning smuggling between Gibraltar and Spain; [54183]
(4) what assessment his Department has made of information it has received since 10 December 2001 concerning smuggling between Gibraltar and Spain. [54181]
§ Mr. StrawAs my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe said in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, East, Nairn and Lochaber (Mr. Stewart) on 10 December 2001.Official Report, column 633W, we have asked the Spanish Government to make available to us any current evidence that they have of significant cross-border smuggling. We will continue to do so whenever complaints are made, and would, with the Government of Gibraltar, investigate any evidence received. We have not seen any recent evidence of large-scale smuggling.
§ Andrew MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his visit to Gibraltar on 3 May. [54329]
§ Peter HainThe Foreign Secretary visited Gibraltar on 3 May. He met the Chief Minister, opposition leaders Mr. Joe Bossano and Mr. Joe Garcia; and other leading Gibraltarians during meetings with a range of representative organisations. He took part in a phone-in152W organised by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation. He also saw for himself the recent changes at the border. He met the commander, British forces.
The Foreign Secretary explained our objective is a settled, secure and prosperous future for Gibraltar. He underlined that no agreement would be better than a bad agreement and that the people of Gibraltar would have the final say in a referendum.
§ Andrew MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has asked Spain to relinquish its claim to full sovereignty of Gibraltar as part of the talks under the terms of the Brussels process on the future status of Gibraltar. [54354]
§ Peter HainI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North Dorset (Mr. Walter) on 16 April 2002,Official Report, column 451, and to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 24 April 2002, Official Report, columns 294–95W.
§ Andrew MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Government of Gibraltar was advised of his intention to visit Gibraltar in May. [54328]
§ Peter HainMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has stated his intention to visit Gibraltar on a number of occasions. The Foreign Secretary told the Chief Minister on 30 April of his intention to visit on 3 May.