Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has informed the president of the Government of Andalusia, Juanma Moreno, and the mayors of Campo de Gibraltar about the results of his second meeting in Brussels with his counterpart from the United Kingdom, David Cameron, and the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, to address the future of Gibraltar.
According to Foreign Affairs sources, Albares yestereday called Moreno at half past ten in the morning and held a videoconference, an hour later, with the mayors and other authorities of Campo de Gibraltar.
The objective of all these contacts, according to the same sources, was to explain the progress in the negotiation of the agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar and “answer their questions or doubts” after the meeting in Brussels, held yesterday Thursday in which, according to the final joint statement, recognized what had already been agreed in the previous meeting on April 12 and discussed aspects related to: economy, trade, mobility, environment and social well-being.
“I have spoken with the president of the Junta de Andalucía and (I have held) a video conference with mayors of Campo de Gibraltar to report on the progress of yesterday’s meeting and answer their questions with transparency. We work for a good agreement that gives confidence and security to our citizens in the area,” Albares declared through the X social network.
In an interview granted today to the program ‘La Hora de La 1’, on TVE, Albares assured that the meeting in Brussels made it possible to address “very important” issues for Spain in environmental matters and allowed “to advance and bring closer positions in everything that entails the social development of Campo de Gibraltar”. The minister did not want to go into details about the negotiation, but assured that there is no “insurmountable obstacle” and that “enough time was dedicated to guaranteeing that both the functioning of the Schengen area and that of the customs union, the controls that are applied, are done with the necessary guarantees.”
After yesterday’s conversation between Albares and Moreno, the advisor to the Presidency of the Junta of Andalusia, Antonio Sanz, defended the need to exercise “prudence” because “in this case the Ministry requests it” and because “we are at a key moment.” of negotiation; There is still no agreement, but it is recognized that there is progress on the part of the Ministry.”
For his part, the mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, Juan Franco, declared that, “at least, dialogue continues, none of the parties have risen with a ‘we have come this far’, and what I see “It is that, at least, there is that will to reach agreements.”
According to the joint statement adopted at the end of the Brussels meeting, in which the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, also participated as a member of the British delegation, “all parties reaffirm that the agreement is more close and that they will work together and quickly on the most relevant aspects to achieve a global EU-United Kingdom agreement.”
“The meeting has reaffirmed the shared commitment to conclude an EU-UK Agreement that will bring confidence, legal certainty and stability to the lives and quality of life of people across the region by protecting and improving trade, economic , mobility, the environment and social well-being, while safeguarding the legal positions of each of the parties,” the statement adds. Furthermore, “they have agreed to remain in close and permanent contact,” the text concludes.
For his part, Albares declared to the press in Brussels that the perspective is that “there will be an agreement,” but “there is no possible deadline.” “On April 12, important agreements were made and today new agreements have been made, which we hope to conclude soon,” but, “in any case, there is no matter in which neither of the parties” has shown “a rejection or frontal opposition to reach an agreement,” he added.
