The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received last night in Madrid his British counterpart Elizabeth Truss, with whom he discussed the negotiations between the EU and the UK on Gibraltar and agreed on the desire to reach an agreement “as soon as possible”.
Yesterday’s visit was the first bilateral European visit of the British minister in her first hundred days in office. On December 1, the two met for the first time on the margins of the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Riga.
During the meeting, the two sides reported, the two ministers discussed the state of negotiations between the Commission and the United Kingdom for the future EU-UK Agreement on Gibraltar. “The first four negotiating rounds have achieved relevant progress,” according to Foreign Affairs. In this regard, Albares and Trass welcomed “the constructive nature of the negotiations”, which are being conducted on the basis of the Commission’s mandate and the proposals submitted by the UK, and reaffirmed their commitment to the 2020 Policy Framework.
In this context, the two ministers considered that the development of the negotiations reflects “the readiness of the parties to reach an agreement as soon as possible” and agreed that it is “in everyone’s interest to conclude these talks in the first quarter of 2022.” “The United Kingdom maintained its position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar,” the British Embassy specified.
According to the Foreign Office, the process has progressed more slowly because of the complexity of the issues discussed and the pandemic situation of COVID-19. The negotiations have covered all areas, including free movement of persons, exchange of goods, conditions of fair competition, environmental issues, coordination of social security systems and citizens’ rights, “without losing sight of the fact that the future agreement must respect the acquis communautaire and the legal positions of Spain and the United Kingdom”. According to the Commission, “the negotiations could move to a definitive phase very soon, so that the agreement is reached in the first quarter of 2022,” the Ministry added.
Both ministers also discussed the extension of the validity of the Memoranda of Understanding between Spain and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar on Police and Customs Cooperation, Environmental Cooperation and Tobacco and Other Products, whose validity was due to expire on December 31, in order to ensure an appropriate framework for cooperation until the new agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar and the appropriate complementary bilateral understandings are signed.
