The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, has acknowledged that during the last three years he has had no choice but to assume the consequences of a referendum «ill-considered» on the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and hopes to complete the «arduous road» towards the signing of a final treaty on future relations with the EU, in which the «geographical reality» must be recognized.
«Such a treaty will regulate the fluidity of movement of people and goods between Gibraltar and the rest of the EU. It will have to recognize that our interaction with the rest of the EU is, geographically and physically, through Spain, as our neighboring EU member state,» said Picardo, referring to the pact that is still under negotiation.
«We have to be realistic and understand that politicians can be asked to do many things by the people they serve, but the only thing we cannot realistically be asked to do is to change geographical realities,» he added in a statement.
One of the main sticking points is precisely how and who will control the entrances to Gibraltar, a prerequisite for not breaking the Schengen area. The agreement sealed by Madrid and London on December 31, 2020 placed Spain as responsible for ensuring the standards of this space, although it has been considered to incorporate Frontex.
Picardo has stated that this first agreement allowed «paving the long and arduous road towards a final treaty», pending resolution but for which the parties are «well on track». «We are not there yet, and we may not get there, but we are well on the way to making this treaty a positive reality,» he added, without ruling out a ‘non-agreement’.
He is also confident that Gibraltar can reach its own agreements with the EU, something for which «Spain also plays a fundamental role».
THE «LIES» OF BREXIT The ‘no’ to Brexit obtained an «overwhelming» support in Gibraltar –about 96 percent–, as recalled Tuesday Picardo, who has partly attributed the majority support in the UK as a whole to the «pernicious lies disguised as arguments» agitated by the advocates of the exit from the EU.
In this regard, he has warned that the polls now show that «the majority of the British people now consider that (the Brexit) was a bad thing,» which implies being «in agreement» with what Gibraltar voted at the time.
«We had a lot at stake in that ill-considered referendum,» he added, stating that the relationship with the EU, although it was not «without problems», yes «had been positive in most respects.» «Gibraltar, Gibraltarians and residents in Gibraltar we were forced to a decision that we did not want and that we were clear that it was not good for us,» he lamented.
Picardo has advocated to continue working, optimistic about the importance of concluding the open negotiations and leave behind all the «inconveniences» associated with Brexit. «I hope that soon we will celebrate a better anniversary than the one we regret to remember today,» he reiterated.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)