Azopardi ‘cautiously welcomes’ UK/EU political agreement, but details needed

The Leader of the Opposition Keith Azopardi has cautiously welcomed the political agreement on Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU.

The UK/EU agreement aims to ensure fluidity across the border for both people and goods and, hours after it was finalised in Brussels, in Gibraltar Mr Azopardi said that without the full detail it is impossible to say whether this is a safe and beneficial agreement.

“The reaching of a political declaration today nearly nine years after the Brexit referendum has been long in coming but is positive in terms of trying to conclude negotiations on a treaty,” Mr Azopardi told the Chronicle.

“Our cautious welcome to it is tempered by the fact that in terms of substance little has changed.”

“There is no treaty text published and until that happens it is impossible to say whether this is a safe and beneficial agreement.”

“Equally it is impossible until we see the agreement to say if legitimate concerns on security or other issues have been dealt with safely.”

“That aside however we consider that this now allows Gibraltar to enter a new and hopefully final phase that will lead swiftly to a published text and the conclusion of the negotiations with answers to these questions.”

During a live broadcast on GBC, Mr Azopardi described how “nothing of substance has emerged”.

“There’s a lot of hype on an agreement but actually no agreement yet,” he said.

“All that there has been is a political declaration, a press release. Now, was that necessary? Yes, but we need to get beyond the political agreement.”

He understands that it could take months to find out the full detail of the treaty and, for him to make a final assessment, the clauses within the text would need to be carefully judged.

In Gibraltar, the political agreement between UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares and Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has been met by local groups with general positivity but lots of questions.

The deal secures an arrangement for goods and customs to enter Gibraltar across the border and a bespoke goods and customs model for products entering Gibraltar across its land border, avoiding the need for onerous checks. 

Amongst labour groups, the common thread was that an agreement is preferred over a no negotiated outcome (NNO) and that employees and businesses require certainty.

Unite the Union’s Christian Duo said he is supportive of an agreement which ensures border fluidity for workers and goods and safeguards the economic prosperity on both sides of the border.

“We are very pleased, uncertainty is not good for anything and we are supportive of a deal,” he said.

He added that Unite had debated internally at their local executive the New Years Eve framework agreement in 2020 and there was overwhelming support for it at the time and this mandate has been taken forward ever since.

But Mr Duo said that he would need to look at the detail of the agreement once it was published before coming to a final assessment.

The president of the GGCA union and current chair of the Cross Frontier Group, Darren Cerisola, said the agreement was a very positive development, adding that he was pleased that the Government has delivered a deal.

He highlighted that his membership is anxious about the deal, particularly HM Customs and the Borders and Coastguards Agency, and about any potential loss of earnings.

And he echoed popular concerns over how fluid the border will be and what security measures will be in place.

“People need to know and be reassured,” Mr Cerisola said.

He added that the Group has requested a meeting with the Chief Minister.

Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses (GFSB) chairperson Owen Smith called the agreement on Wednesday a “huge relief”.

“It has been a huge relief to see that Gibraltar has managed to reach its own Brexit agreement which, for our membership, it is a preferred outcome to these negotiations” Mr Smith said.

“Our members will be anxious to learn the detail of the agreement that has been reached so that they can begin to understand how, and to what extent, the agreement will affect their business”.

President of the Chamber of Commerce John Isola said it was very positive that an agreement had been reached, but added that it is difficult to make a proper assessment without the detail.

“The alternative would be a no negotiated outcome (NNO) which would have made things extremely difficult for the community and also for the businesses,” Mr Isola said.

“Clearly there will be some sectors of the business community, particularly those trading in goods, with concerns but we will not know to what extent until we know the rate of the transaction tax.”

He also congratulated the Chief Minister and negotiating team for achieving an agreement.