Concordat under scrutiny as treaty preparations advance 

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said the concordat between the UK and Gibraltar on matters arising from the UK/EU treaty was expected to be laid in Parliament early next week, telling MPs there would be “no circumstances” in which anything done under the agreement by the UK would be contrary to Gibraltar’s position. 

The concordat was the focus of a detailed exchange in Parliament with Opposition leader Keith Azopardi, who said there were still “live points in respect of the detail of the concordat” and stressed the importance of ensuring that decisions taken by bodies created under the treaty “carry the consent of the Government of Gibraltar”. 

Mr Azopardi said the Opposition had commented on an earlier draft in March and had since submitted further observations on an updated version shared this week.  

He said both sides wanted to ensure that decisions taken by “relevant entities, parties and committees under the treaty” reflected Gibraltar’s consent. 

Replying, Mr Picardo said the Deputy Chief Minister, the Attorney General and he were satisfied the concordat would protect Gibraltar’s position once the treaty came into effect. 

“There would be no circumstances in respect of which anything would be done under the terms of the agreement by the United Kingdom which would be contrary to the position of the people of Gibraltar,” he said. 

Mr Picardo added that this was especially important “in the context of committees and other things that need to be activated once the treaty comes into effect” and “in relation to matters that relate to termination”. 

Mr Azopardi said that assurance was welcome but added that it “would not be the case if the concordat were to suggest otherwise in language or envisage that there were that type of circumstances”.  

He told the Chief Minister the Opposition remained available to discuss the outstanding points and said he hoped both sides could “coalesce around the wording of the concordat when it emerges”. 

Mr Picardo said the Government was actively considering the Opposition’s comments. 

“I’ve already asked for advice on what [Mr Azopardi] has sent to me,” he told Parliament. 

The Chief Minister said it remained the collective intention of the UK, the EU, Spain and Gibraltar for the treaty to be signed “next week or as soon as possible afterwards”, in time for provisional application from July 15. 

On operational readiness, Mr Picardo said Gibraltar remained on track with necessary infrastructure changes.  

The included installation of the Schengen e-gate equipment at the terminal, which has now been “physically completed”. 

Gibraltar had completed all enabling works needed for the installation, including cable ducts and access boxes, Parliament heard. 

On law enforcement arrangements, Mr Picardo said all the administrative arrangements referred to in the treaty had been settled and would come into operation from July 15, apart from those on goods and customs and social security coordination, which had already been identified separately. 

He said this included the arrangements on border checks and border surveillance, as well as police cooperation.  

In total, he said, there were seven administrative arrangements covering implementation generally, border checks and surveillance, police cooperation, goods and customs, military goods and persons, the environment and social security coordination. 

Mr Picardo said that while the treaty itself was with the EU, the practical operating arrangements had to be agreed with Spain.  

He repeated that Gibraltar and the UK favoured publication of the texts, subject to redactions where needed for sensitive security information, although this would have to be coordinated with Spain. 

Mr Azopardi asked whether the Opposition could be given the concluded texts on a confidential basis, as had happened with draft versions, and Mr Picardo said he had no objection in principle, subject to checking there was no issue with doing so. 

The exchange later turned to GSD questions on the possible impact of Schengen short-stay rules on British tourism after the treaty takes effect. 

Mr Azopardi said the issue was one of perception as well as practice, noting that official guidance had highlighted that time spent in Gibraltar by non-EU and non-Schengen nationals would count towards the 90 days in any rolling 180-day period.  

He said that raised the question whether Gibraltar would remain attractive to British tourists arriving by air. 

Mr Picardo rejected that concern.  

“I’m absolutely convinced that this treaty will supercharge Gibraltar’s tourism industry,” he said. 

The Chief Minister said the average stay of visitors arriving in Gibraltar by air was 3.4 days and argued that most tourists would not in practice be affected by the 90-day rule.  

He also pointed to the far greater number of visitors crossing the land border, arguing that easier frontier movement was more important to Gibraltar’s tourism industry than the effect on a small number of long-stay British travellers. 

Gibraltar’s tourism industry would be far worse off without a deal, Mr Picardo said, arguing that the greater risk lay not in the Schengen short-stay rules but in the disruption that would have followed a no-deal outcome.  

He recalled the impact border delays in 2013 when Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo was Spain’s Foreign Minister, adding: “Now imagine that not for five months, Madam speaker, but permanently.” 

“That’s the reality of no deal.”  

Mr Picardo said that was precisely the kind of damage the treaty was designed to avoid, describing it as an arrangement that would protect Gibraltar’s economy and tourism sector. 

The treaty would also create opportunities for the airport by opening it to flights from Spain and the wider European Union, while making Gibraltar more accessible to tourists already holidaying in southern Spain who wished to visit the Rock, Parliament was told.