To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of Gibraltar on its application to the Court of First Instance in relation to the Spanish government's designation of Gibraltarian territorial waters under the EU Habitats Directive. (283615)

We are in close contact with the Government of Gibraltar and are aware of their application to the Court of First Instance, for the annulment of Commission Decision 2009/95/EC to the extent that it lists Estrecho Oriental so as to include British Gibraltar territorial waters and an area of the high seas. This is a matter we take very seriously and we are examining Gibraltar’s case in detail to determine what action we might take.