Graham Watson (ALDE). - Mr President, I represent South West England and Gibraltar. This is one of the few remaining EU aviation measures that still contain a clause excluding Gibraltar airport. After the Cordoba Agreement in 2006, Spain told the Commission that it would no longer seek Gibraltar’s exclusion from such aviation measures. Indeed, it recently transposed into national law an open skies agreement with post-Cordoba language; in other words, including Gibraltar.

But the Commission’s proposed revision of the regulation left in the Gibraltar exclusion clause. That must come out. It was raised as an issue last year at the Transport Council; it has been raised here in our Transport Committee by me and others and in both Parliament and the Council people have asked why we are debating a sovereignty dispute when we should be debating passengers’ rights. The answer is because this is about the rights of every EU citizen, Gibraltarian, Spanish or other, who uses Gibraltar airport. I urge colleagues, therefore, to vote for Amendments 171 to 174 deleting the exclusion clause and to support the wronged people of Gibraltar.