Azopardi welcomes treaty publication but reserves position for now

Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi, welcomed the publication of the UK/EU treaty, but reserved his views highlighting the need to formally discuss with his party.

Mr Azopardi will not take a formal position on the matter until he has called a meeting of the party executive to discuss the agreement, its implications and whether, in the GSD’s view, it is a safe and beneficial agreement for Gibraltar.

He added that the potential or actual benefits in the agreement have to be balanced against the risks represented by concessions in return, what that means socially, politically and financially and placed alongside the prospect of a ‘no deal’ scenario.

“Whether it delivers the desired certainty of a stable future almost 10 years after the Brexit Referendum is also a central consideration,” Mr Azopardi said.

“We will explain our view on the Agreement in detail once the Executive has met to discuss this.”

Mr Azopardi received a confidential copy of the text on February 10 and on Thursday raised questions about the implementation of the treaty in Parliament.

He told Parliament he was glad the draft text has been laid for an opportunity for “proper scrutiny”, adding that this concludes “the end of the beginning”.

“It's been a long time since the Brexit referendum, it's been a long time since the withdrawal agreement and a long time since the New Year's Eve agreement,” he said.

Mr Azopardi called this is a seminal moment for Gibraltar and for the party that he leads.

He said there will be the fullest internal political party political debate on the issue before the GSD comes to a formal position, adding that this will process will commence shortly.

He described how there was a six-hour meeting of the Shadow Cabinet last Monday to discuss the agreement and reach a view of the recommendations made to the GSD executive.

“I now look forward to briefing the Executive on this important Agreement so that we can reach a concluded view at the Executive,” he said.

“Without trammelling on the important process before the Executive we provide this initial reaction to the Agreement.”

“It will be evident that these are a complex set of arrangements that will have deep and potentially long-lasting effects on Gibraltar, the way we interact with the European Union and for our economy and governance.”

“It is an Agreement that provides greater personal freedoms of mobility in the EU for residents of Gibraltar in exchange for the cession of powers, information and a number of economic levers to the EU and Spain.”

“That includes powers to Spanish law enforcement authorities in different guises.”

He sought clarity on the publication of administrative arrangements, whether the Government will produce guidance booklets for the public, a specific guidance booklet for the business community, and a guidance booklet on parallel arrangements with the UK.

Mr Azopardi also asked what works will be done at the frontier in advance of any implementation and time scales, whether Mr Picardo can confirm what the government's present view is on implementation dates, and an insight when the agreement has been tabled for scrutiny and ratification processes.

In response Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said that when it comes to be publication of administrative arrangements, that he could not give a clear answer as some may not be publishable because they may contain sensitive security information.

“Our preference, Madam Speaker, is that they should be published and that they should be redacted as to anything which relates to any aspect which is sensitive for security purposes,” Mr Picardo said.

He added that these arrangements include dealing with corridors and areas in airside parts of an airport which is always a sensitive area.

“You don't want to be publishing that sort of thing for everyone to have available necessarily,” he said.

Mr Picardo added that the Government will be publishing guidance booklets and technical notices, with a number already published, and separately a business manual.

There will also be a manual on immigration requirements, he said this is so that Gibraltarians understand the benefits of the treaty and what they will not be subject to when they arrive t different EU borders and the external Gibraltar border.

The Deputy Chief Minister and Mr Picardo expect to write to all ID card holders to explain these issues, he added that registration card holders will become residence permits.

“For now the civilian registration card will suffice as a residence permit but in future we anticipate a new residence permit will issue to all of those individuals,” he said.

“We will write to those individuals explaining to them the benefits of this agreement and what to expect in coming weeks or months.”

He added that a lot of work is already being undertaken to ensure that Gibraltar has the additional security resources necessary, and that the treaty should not lead to any sense of being less safe.

Mr Picardo said there will be the works necessary on the pedestrian access to Gibraltar and provide a modern new facility at the border, demolition will begin soon to relocate HM Customs and there will be some temporary facilities.

When it comes to the Apil 10 date, he said, there is an opportunity to extend this period for 60 or 90 days of application of the Entry/Exit System (EES).

Mr Picardo said legislation will be brought to the House in a compressed time period, with urgent legislation expected in the first two weeks of March.

He said he will be sharing drafts of this legislation with Mr Azopardi.

“He won't be very surprised it'll be like a new European Communities Act in effect,” Mr Picardo said.

Further expected legislation will be a finance act which will be brought to Parliament before April 10 and will deal with tax measures.