Brussels, 27/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The long dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain about sovereignty over Gibraltar is hindering the EU's policy to combat illegal immigration, explained ALDE leader at the European Parliament, Graham Watson, on Wednesday 26 September. Watson said: 'It's ludicrous that the age-old dispute between the UK and Spain threatens to undermine the effectiveness of Frontex for the EU. Gibraltar's position makes it very significant in the EU's response to illegal immigration, and central to this is the proper functioning of the Frontex border agency.' In July this year, the European Commission said that the Rock of Gibraltar was not being included in the controls carried out by Frontex, the EU's border patrol agency. Watson added: 'I will use my speech on migration and immigration to call on the European Commission to act urgently to resolve this.' In a written question in July, Graham Watson tabled a parliamentary question to the Commission on this subject. EU Immigration Commissioner Franco Frattini replied that Frontex was a continuation of the Schengen Agreement on the lifting of internal borders, to which the United Kingdom was not a party. (bc)