Parliament hears treaty update as Spanish and Gib officials meet in airport

A team of officials and technical experts from Gibraltar and Spain met in Gibraltar Airport on Thursday to discuss practical arrangements for the implementation of the UK/EU treaty once it is ratified.

The visit came as Chief Minister Fabian Picardo took questions in Parliament from Opposition Leader Keith Azopardi on the progress of the treaty and the next steps that will be followed.

The treaty text was completed last December and is currently undergoing a technical and legal review, commonly referred to as a “legal scrub”, as well as translation in parallel.

Mr Picardo said the Cabinet had been reviewing an “unscrubbed” text of the treaty and was likely to conclude that work this week.

He did not expect and significant changes as result of the legal review but this would be carefully considered once the process was complete, adding “we're looking at weeks, not months”.

Once the “legal scrub” is completed, this will pave the way for the formal ratification processes in both the UK and the EU, which are the parties to the agreement in international law.

The Commission has previously said this should be an EU-only agreement, meaning ratification for the EU will be only in the European Parliament and not in the national parliaments of each member state.

For the UK, the ratification process will start with a motion in the Gibraltar Parliament calling on the UK to ratify the treaty, after which it will have to be approved in the UK Parliament.

In the UK system, the treaty will follow the Constitutional Reform Act [CRAG] procedure, which involves the treaty being laid in the Houses of Parliament for 21 sitting days.

If there are no objections during this time, it is ratified automatically, though there will be opportunity for debate.

Mr Picardo said “it will be important” for EU member states and the Commission to persuade a majority in the European Parliament to support the agreement and consent to it.

“The European Commission already commenced that work through the appearance of the Commission's lead negotiator, Ms. Clara Martinez Alberola, before the Parliament's Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee in September last year,” he said.

“The role of the Spanish government and of the political parties in Spain which are in favour of the agreement will also be fundamental in terms of influencing the European Parliament, [and] the different political families which make up their pan-European political groupings.”

While this will be an EU process, the Gibraltar Government is ready to deploy its assets in Gibraltar House in Brussels, in coordination with the UK Mision to the EU, to assist with that process.

That will involve engaging with MEPs and demonstrating the benefits of the agreement.

“This is an agreement, indeed a historic agreement, which will be of mutual benefit to Gibraltar and the surrounding region of Spain as well as the EU as a whole” and will strengthen the UK/EU relationship, Mr Picardo said.

Asked by Mr Azopardi whether the agreement was likely to be ratified by the UK and the EU before April 10, when the EU’s new automated border control system will come into force across the Schengen area, Mr Picardo declined to set any deadlines.

He said the most important goal was to ensure a deal that was safe and beneficial for Gibraltar, and that all involved were working to deliver this “as soon as possible” and avoid any disruption as a result of the EES deadline.

He said the significance of the agreement to the Rock’s socio-economic future meant it was important that Gibraltar’s elected MPs were able to debate it in Parliament to offer citizens their assessment of the deal, adding “this is not a debate for Facebook”.

“We've got to make the relevant decisions, he said.

“We have to value what is before us and what the alternative is.”

Mr Picardo said the EU ratification process meant the treaty text would be circulated to the EU’s 27 member states before it could be formally published by the signatories.

That in turn meant it was likely that the text would be leaked before it was formally published, Parliament was told.

There was no mention in Parliament of the work at the airport on Thursday but the meeting was confirmed by No.6 Convent Place, albeit in cautious language and with no details.

“A team of officials and technical experts from Spain and Gibraltar have today held meetings at Gibraltar Airport,” a Government spokesperson said.

“The meetings relate to exploratory discussions for the potential implementation of the arrangements envisaged in the UK/EU Treaty in relation to Gibraltar.”