Treaty text progressing ‘with care and determination, CM says as Cooper and Albares meet in London 

Work on the final legal text of a UK/EU treaty for Gibraltar’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc is progressing “with care and determination”, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said on Monday, adding he remained “optimistic” of a successful conclusion to the process.  

Mr Picardo was speaking as UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper met her Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, in London for a wide-ranging discussion on bilateral cooperation that touched on the Gibraltar agreement among many other areas.  

Ahead of the lunch meeting, the Chief Minister said he spoke “at length” with Ms Cooper and discussed “all outstanding matters” relating to the legal text. He did not expand on what those areas were. 

Ongoing work on the treaty text follows the political agreement reached on June 11 by the UK, the European Commission, Gibraltar and Spain.  

“I had a very positive and constructive conversation with the Foreign Secretary this morning, ahead of her lunch meeting with José Manuel Albares,” Mr Picardo said.   

“We are both fully committed to ensuring that the final legal text of the treaty properly reflects the agreement reached in June and safeguards Gibraltar’s interests in every respect.”  

“The discussions are progressing with care and determination, and I remain optimistic that they will arrive to a successful conclusion.”  

The meeting at Carlton Gardens in London was the first time Ms Cooper had met with Mr Albares since her appointment as Foreign Secretary in September.  

It came after the UK and Spain signed a bilateral strategic framework on September 3 to strengthen cooperation across seven areas including sustainable growth, foreign and development policy, societal relations, climate and energy, European security and defence, judicial and migration cooperation, and transport.  

In a statement, Spain’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said the aim of the meeting was the “advance” the agreement, with discussions focused on its implementation.  

The two ministers also discussed the UK’s relationship with the EU, “expressing support” for the agreement on Gibraltar and a commitment by both governments to “bring it into force swiftly”, the statement from the Spanish ministry said.  

The ministers reviewed the conclusions of the UK/EU summit held on May 19, noting the shared intention to relaunch relations following Brexit.   

Spain welcomed the progress made and said that while further negotiations were needed, the recent agreements offered a solid basis for closer partnership.  

“We are on the right path to strengthening the alliance between Spain and the United Kingdom, based on the strong and dynamic ties between our societies and economies,” Mr Albares said. “In an increasingly challenging world, it is crucial that Spain, the European Union and the United Kingdom work together to make our countries fairer, safer and more prosperous.”  

Mr Albares confirmed that respective teams were already in contact “to explore priority areas of cooperation, as well as a viable and effective monitoring mechanism.”  

He said Spain hoped for a “swift and balanced” rollout of the framework.  

The two ministers also discussed the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.