EU Court of Justice confirms Spain has a listed nature site in Gibraltar waters
British Government has lost a crucial appeal before the European Court of Justice [ECJ] relating to Gibraltar’s territorial waters. Britain was seeking to overturn an earlier judgement dismissing its legal challenge to the European Commission’s approval of a Spanish EU nature site in British waters.
According to a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle, the latest court decision follows the Gibraltar Government’s defeat before the ECJ last August in a separate case on the same issue.
By ruling on two separate occasions against the UK and Gibraltar, the ECJ has in effect ensured that Spain continues to have a listed nature site in Gibraltar waters. Britain and Gibraltar are now liaising closely on their response to the latest developments.
“We will give urgent consideration as to our next steps,” said a spokesperson for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
“We are clear that this ruling has no impact on our position on sovereignty of Gibraltar, which we have expressed consistently and publicly.”
“We continue to explore all further legal and political options in consultation with HM Government of Gibraltar.”
The British Government said it was “disappointed” by the latest ruling but added that it was made on technical grounds that did not touch on the substance of the British position, which is that Spain has no jurisdiction in Gibraltar waters.
The Gibraltar Government issued a brief statement saying it was not surprised by the decision to dismiss the UK’s case on technical grounds “given the composition of the Court dealing with this matter”.
No 6 said that the ruling had ignored the substance of the matter in the decision on the UK case as much as it did in the Gibraltar application.
“The decision changes nothing of substance either. The waters around Gibraltar are exclusively British Gibraltar Territorial Waters under British Sovereignty. The Government is liaising closely with the United Kingdom on this matter and considering appropriate action.”
Much of the legal argument hinged on whether the European Commission should have known that the Spanish site overlapped with an existing British one, and what steps it should have taken to consult Britain before approving it.
The British Government said that, irrespective of the ruling, it did not recognise Spain’s listed site in Gibraltar waters.
“We remain deeply concerned that Spain should have sought to list an area of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters as a Site of Community Importance under the EU Habitats Directive, and that the European Commission should have accepted such a proposal,” the FCO spokesman said.
“The UK is the only Member State competent to propose an SCI listing in respect of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and had already done so before the Spanish submitted their Estrecho Oriental listing.”
“In contrast to the open and consultative approach taken by the UK when submitting our listing in respect of the Southern Waters of Gibraltar, Spain submitted its listing without undertaking any prior consultation with the UK or HM Government of Gibraltar.”
Gibraltar’s three Tory MEPs reacted with dismay to the Thursday court decision condemning the ruling as “a blow to common sense”.
In a joint statement, Giles Chichester, Ashley Fox and Julie Girling said: “Spain is once again here insidiously trying to extend its influence into areas where that influence does not belong.”
“It craftily set up this area under Spanish protection in the hope nobody would notice it had swallowed up a significant stretch of Gibraltar’s waters. It is a blatant move to grab control of part of our seas.
“To add to the offence, much of the area in question was already under the environmental protection of an SCI granted to the UK some time ago and called The Southern Waters of Gibraltar. “Sadly, the force of the UK and Gibraltar’s argument has been not recognised and this is a blow for common sense.”
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26 comments Feed
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Still this is what may happen when one is considered to weak to act,
Perhaps when we finally withdraw from the EU, we might be in a position to tell the EU and Spain where to go.?
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was going to barcelona next year with my family, not no more, the idea of handing my money to spain is quite sickening.
unless of course catalonia breaks away from spain.
Foreign Office working as usual...
s7.postimage.org/e5h90maej/foreign_office_uk.jpg
[Why, when the UK listed its SCI Southern Waters of Gibraltar in 2006, did the Commission insist on consultation in advance with Spain, but did not insist on this when Spain made its overlapping listing in 2008/12?]
'Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are sites that have been adopted by the European Commission but not formally designated by the government of each country.'
The UK and Gibraltar may chose to recognise their own designated Reserve in the area, but may chose to not recognise the Spanish-proposed SCI that covers much the same area.
Only if the fishing boats painted out their IMO code or attempted night fishing would there be a slight problem. Even at night, sonar fingerprints are constantly recorded for this extremely important choke-point (I imagine only the Straits of Hormuz are better electronically observed!).
I guess in tough times, one typically resorts to form (argentina becomes larcenous, spain becomes larcenous, bolivia becomes larcenous, venezuela becomes larcenous...repeat ad nauseum).
The Governor, Sir Adrian Johns, said the vessel had violated British sovereignty and was ordered out by the Gibraltar Squadron.”
So, listen up, Spain. Sooner or later you are going to force the Royal Navy to open fire.
Moreover, this is yet another reason for the UK to leave the EU. Appeal and get a Spanish judge? What sort of justice is that? Well, it's EU justice. The sort that views all the waters around Europe as “EU waters”. The sort that permits Spanish fishing boats to over-fish British fishing grounds. Let's do the obvious thing. Re-arm!
For this reason alone I'm guessing you could tell the EU court to go swivel if they served up any member of the spanish judiciary to hear out something about Gibraltar.
Before the Brit copy past that turned into...
“The rule of law” only if favour us of course...
Same as the Assange fiasco, A Spanish lawyer, ex judge, standing in a British street outside a South American Embassy, telling the British people how to administer their own Criminal Judicial System. Farcical, WTF, this was not why my grand parents and parents voted on the question of whether we should enter the then EEC, which correct me if I am wrong, was suppose to be a European Trade Union! It's gone too far, far too far and it is now time say so, loud and clear!
As of the 1999 ECHR case, it was decided that Gibraltar should be entitled to vote in EC elections.
As they are British (by their choice) then they are included in the nearest British constituency (South West England).
Needless to say, this was protested by Spain in the european courts, and lost.
Boot other foot .com.
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