May 21 - UK Parliament Questions Regarding Cordoba Agreement and Fishing
The Cordoba Agreement and the fishing dispute were the focus of recent questions to David Lidington, the UK's Minister of State for Europe.
The written answers provided by Mr Lidington restate the Conservative party’s position on Gibraltar and provide specific details on incursions. Asked by Labour MP Jim Dobbin whether the UK will put pressure on Spain to comply with its obligations under the Cordoba Agreement, Mr Lidington replied that: “The UK Government continues to encourage Spain to comply with its commitments under the 2006 Cordoba Agreement which represented a significant step forward in co-operation between the UK, Spain and Gibraltar.”
He stressed that his Government “continues to recognise the value of dialogue and supports a return to a trilateral process in which Gibraltar is actively involved.”
In response to a further question from Mr Dobbin, Mr Lidington confirmed that the Spanish Ambassador had been summoned once in the last 12 months in respect of Spanish incursions into British Gibraltar territorial waters. Mr Lidington also said there had been a total of 176 unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish state vessels in the period from 1 November 2012 to 30 April 2013.
Andrew Rosindell, Mr Lidington’s party colleague, asked whether there were any plans to extend the UK's claim to the territorial waters surrounding Gibraltar from three to 12 nautical miles. Mr Lidington replied that there were no such plans at present but it remained an “option” as it was enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
