Gibraltar pledges to review ecological codes after EC opens inquiry

Gibraltar has pledged to conduct a full review by the end of the year of its plans for environmental conservation in the waters that surround the British Overseas Territory after the European Commission said it will investigate Britain and the local government for non-compliance of the European Union’s Habitats Directive.

The Habitats Directive is one of Europe’s major conservation policies, and is aimed at protecting certain endangered sites – as well as more than 1,000 plant and animal species – in member countries. More than 200 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) have been designated across the continent.

The inquiry is more of a technical matter rather than a practical one”

The Gibraltar government confirmed that the review will take place in a statement issued after EL PAÍS reported on Tuesday that the EC had opened a preliminary inquiry against Britain and its territory to see if SACs designated by Brussels are being protected.

“The investigation against the UK is more of a technical matter rather than a practical one,” the Gibraltar government said.

 “The main criticism made in respect of sites across the UK, including Gibraltar, is that the conservation objectives for EU protected species and habitats are too high level and broad, and therefore they do not effectively establish priorities for the maintenance or restoration, at a favorable conservation status, of EU protected habitats and species.”

For its part, Britain claimed the Rock of Gibraltar (200.5 hectares of land, comprising the entire territory) and the Southern Waters of Gibraltar (some 5,486 hectares of sea) as its two designated SACs.

Spain declared the Eastern Strait, which encompasses 23,641 hectares of water, covering the entire southern and eastern part of Gibraltar, as its SAC. Ownership of these waters is in dispute between the UK and Spain.

Brussels accepted these designations but demanded that measures be adopted to protect the marine ecosystems.

The Gibraltarian government of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo added that it was confident that the EC would shelve the inquiry without having to file a complaint with the European Court of Justice.

Spain has prohibited “bunkering” – offshore refueling of ships in the open waters – in the area and introduced a series of penalties for environmental violations.

But in its statement, the Gibraltar government claims that Spain “is actually in a far worse position” with the EC, which has begun “infringement proceedings” against Madrid for failing to designate other SACs.

Gibraltar has filed a new complaint against Spain over an automated border control system for pedestrians

On Tuesday, the Andalusian government designated nine SACs, which comprise of 37,352 hectares, including Alborán island. However, none of these new designations are located in the disputed waters surrounding Gibraltar, where the environmental protection measures adopted by the Spanish government have been accepted by the EC.

In a separate matter, Gibraltar has filed a new border complaint against Spain over an automated border control system for pedestrians, which was introduced at the end of July.

“[These] e-gates are supposed to reduce the processing time for travelers and instead they have had the very opposite effect and led to increased waiting times,” Gibraltar said in another statement.