CM and Garcia attend London talks amid hopes for end to treaty uncertainty

The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia were in London on Monday for the latest round of treaty talks.

While technical talks have continued non-stop since the last high-level political negotiating round in Brussels in September 2024, the direct involvement of Mr Picardo and Dr Garcia will again fuel hopes that a deal may be close.

No.6 Convent Place confirmed the London negotiating round in a short press release that offered few details save to add that Attorney General Michael Llamas, Chief Secretary Glendon Martinez and the Director of Gibraltar House in Brussels, Daniel D’Amato, were also part of the Gibraltar delegation.

The statement also reaffirmed the Gibraltar Government’s commitment to securing a deal so long as it respected each negotiating party’s red lines.

“The Government remains firmly committed to secure a treaty which is safe and secure for Gibraltar, given that the status quo we have enjoyed post-Brexit is not an option, whilst being very clear that ‘no deal’ would be better than a bad deal,” No.6 said.

The online publication Politico reported on Monday that the talks were being hosted by Stephen Doughty, the Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Also in attendance were the European Commission’s senior negotiator, Clara Martinez Alberola, and Madrid’s State Secretary for the European Union, Fernando Sampedro, as well as their respective technical teams.

Last year, the UK, Spain, the European Commission and Gibraltar held three four-way ministerial meetings on the treaty, making progress on each occasion but falling short of agreeing a deal.

The meetings brought together the UK and Spanish foreign ministers, the Commission’s chief negotiator, Commission Maros Sefcovic, and the Chief Minister.

Just last week, Mr Sampedro said another high-level political meeting would be convened “when the conditions are right”, signalling optimism about the progress of talks.

Mr Sampedro said technical contacts – “even at my level” - continued “very smoothly”, and that he was in weekly contact with negotiating counterparts.

“There is no impasse,” he said at the time.

“We are still making progress. I believe there are reasons for optimism.”

“The framework is very clearly defined for further advancement and integration.”

“I don’t want to get ahead of anything, but we are reasonably satisfied with the continuation of our contacts with the Commission and the British Government in this regard.”

The UK and the EU are due to discuss strengthening their relationship at a summit to be hosted by the UK Government on May 19.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government wants to “reset” its relations with the bloc after Brexit and against the backdrop of global turmoil.

Last week, Mr Sampedro said Spain is advocating for “the closest possible relationship” with the UK Government “with whom we share any values and interests”.

“And we believe that for this alliance and rapprochement to be complete, all outstanding issues must also be resolved, both on the European Union's agenda and in the bilateral agenda,” he said.

“In Spain’s case, the agreement on Gibraltar, which has been on the table for a long time, is well known.”

“We believe and hope that the British Government will give its final approval.”

EYES ON TALKS

On Monday, the Cadiz province section of Spain’s largest union, Comisiones Obreras [CCOO], unanimously approved a resolution at its annual congress urging treaty negotiators to “once and for all” reach agreement.

The resolution, tabled by the union’s Campo branch, charted developments since the Brexit vote and recalled that even in the early stages, CCOO had warned the vote to leave the EU represented “a tsunami” for communities on either side of the border.

CCOO had “warmly welcomed” the New Year’s Eve agreement that provided a framework for ongoing treaty talks aimed at guaranteeing frontier fluidity and legal certainty in Gibraltar’s relations with the EU after Brexit.

“The months went by, and then the years, without the negotiating parties being able to reach the long-awaited agreement, and over time, the uncertainty and concern of the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on the economic and social relationship between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar have only grown,” said Manuel Triano, the Secretary General of CCOO in the Campo de Gibraltar, in presenting the resolution.

Representatives of two Gibraltarian unions, Unite the Union and the GGCA, were present at the congress and emphasized the strong historical relationship between unions on both sides of the border.