The Diplomat
Delegations from Spain and the United Kingdom met yesterday in Madrid to prepare for the next round of negotiations on the future of Gibraltar after Brexit, to be held in the coming days by the British Government and the European Commission.
The preparatory meeting, which is customary before the negotiating rounds, was attended on the Gibraltar side by the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, the Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph García, and the Attorney General, Michael Llamas. The latter will travel to London to participate in person in the negotiating round with Brussels, while Picardo and García will do so by videoconference.
The Gibraltar government said in a statement yesterday that it “remains fully committed to achieving a positive, safe and secure treaty for Gibraltar and is very optimistic about the consensus to achieve such a treaty”.
It will be the first meeting to be held after the Spanish and UK foreign ministers, José Manuel Albares and James Cleverly, respectively, met in mid-December in Madrid and expressed their desire to conclude the treaty on the Rock as soon as possible, despite differences on some important points, such as the joint use of Gibraltar’s airport.
