The chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, has stated that there are still «details» to be closed regarding border controls and is confident of reaching an agreement «acceptable to all», in the absence of specifying who would control the port and airport.
The agreement on the table proposes the abolition of the fence and that Gibraltar remains within the Schengen border-free area, which would lead Spain to control entries through the Gibraltarian port and airport. Spain proposes that Frontex collaborate with the police for an initial period of four years.
This is what the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has defended this Wednesday at the end of a meeting in Madrid with his British counterpart, James Cleverly, in which Picardo has participated telematically, who has subsequently appeared before the media.
The Gibraltarian chief minister agreed that there is a willingness on all sides to reach an agreement «as soon as possible», without setting a date. «We cannot pretend that 320 years of disagreement can disappear in a moment,» he said.
Gibraltar, he added, «has not changed its position in relation to Schengen», an area of which the Rock «will not be part» but with which it aspires to establish «a common travel area», so that there will continue to be freedom of movement.
On airport controls, he has reiterated his rejection of a «joint use», although he is open to an «improved use» on which he has not gone into details.
In this sense, he has defended the «shared objective» of bringing positions closer together and the «excellent progress» made in the negotiations to establish a solid framework of relations in the post-Brexit scenario, pending to be resolved since the end of 2020.
Picardo hopes that an agreement will lay the foundations for «unprecedented growth» of both Gibraltar and the surrounding areas and avoid future «misunderstandings». He also stressed that there can be no «discrimination» to citizens, noting for example the need for agreements on pensions.
The objective, according to Picardo, is that «none of the parties around the table loses» when the future agreement is announced.
