MEP stands up for Rock in New Flame Debate

11.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 21st Apr 2008

Gibraltar Liberal Democrat MEP Graham Watson will tonight take up the cudgels for the southernmost part of his constituency in a debate in the European Parliament about the grounding of the ship 'New Flame'. The debate, secured by Spanish Partido Popular MEPs Gerardo Galeote and Luis de Grandes Pascual, seeks to discredit Gibraltar's handling of the incident and to cast doubt on the legality of oil bunkering.

Speaking in advance of the debate, Graham Watson MEP said:

"I am in contact with both government and opposition about the New Flame salvage operation. Contrary to reports in the Spanish press I believe it has been handled well, with regular information to the Spanish authorities even though both the location of the collision and of the wreck are in Gibraltar's territorial waters. Spanish MEPs wrongly suggest it happened in the Bay; I will invite them to come to Gibraltar to see for themselves. They speak of seven oil spills, which is nonsense. They also imply that bunkering is against EU law when it most emphatically is not."

"Genuine concern about potential damage from shipping to the marine environment is welcome. Jumping on a bandwagon to make constitutional controversy is a sign of the depths to which the PP itself has sunk."

Note to editors: TV and audio coverage of the debate is available free of charge from the European Parliament, please contact Caroline Boyle on +44 20 7227 4316, or +33 3 881 74822. Email caroline.boyle@europarl.europa.eu ; the debate can also be viewed on the internet at www.europarl.europa.eu.