Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; The Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, will meet again this Thursday, May 16 in Brussels to discuss the future of Gibraltar, after the first meeting held with the same format on April 12.
At that meeting, according to diplomatic sources, the parties recognized the important progress achieved in general political lines and agreed to continue negotiations to conclude the EU-United Kingdom Agreement. “The purpose of this second meeting is to advance the main lines of an agreement that will bring prosperity, confidence, legal security and stability to the citizens of the entire Campo de Gibraltar,” they added.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU commissioner in charge of negotiations with the UK Government on the Gibraltar issue, had called the first meeting in Brussels in an attempt to make progress on outstanding issues in the negotiation on the future of Gibraltar after the Brexit, after eighteen formal rounds of talks between Brussels and London, which began in October 2021. The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, was present at the meeting as a member of the British delegation.
At the end of the meeting, the three parties issued a joint statement in which they limited themselves to announcing that the negotiations, in “the first meeting in this format,” were “held in a constructive atmosphere and significant progress has been achieved.” “General political lines have been agreed, including on the airport, goods and mobility,” the text continues. “Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks to conclude the EU-UK Agreement,” he adds.
According to the statement, participants agreed “that it has been a productive day.” “The meeting has reaffirmed the shared commitment to conclude an EU-UK Agreement that ensures a future of prosperity for the entire region,” say the three parties. “This Agreement will bring confidence, legal security and stability to the lives and quality of life of people throughout the region, without prejudice to the legal positions of each of the parties,” he concludes.
Last Monday, Albares received representatives of the Junta de Andalucía and the municipalities of Campo de Gibraltar in Madrid to inform them about the current status of the negotiations.
