GSD calls for EU treaty text to be released to Opposition, as Albares signals movement toward ratification phase

The GSD has called on the Government of Gibraltar to release the full text of the proposed EU treaty on Gibraltar to the Opposition in advance of its general publication.

The party said the move was necessary to ensure a meaningful parliamentary debate before the treaty is submitted by the UK for ratification.

An agreement on the text was reached last December and the document has since been undergoing legal review.

While there is no official confirmation that this process is complete, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares indicated on Tuesday that the agreement was now with the European Council.

“The agreement is now with the Council and will reach the [European] Parliament imminently,” he told reporters after meeting his Greek counterpart, though he added no further detail.

Asked whether the legal review was complete, a European Commission official told the Chronicle the Commission had no further information to share at this stage.

Once confirmed, circulation of the text to the EU’s 27 members will precede debate and ratification by the EU Parliament.

A motion in the Gibraltar Parliament will trigger the process for the UK, which will use the procedure set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 to ratify the treaty in the UK Parliament.

“So far we have not seen a single page of the proposed treaty which we are told is over 700 pages without counting the technical memoranda and annexes,” said Keith Azopardi, the Leader of the Opposition.

“Presumably the total extent of the document could extend to over a thousand pages.”

“The Government has said that before the treaty is submitted by the UK for ratification it will be subjected to a debate in the Gibraltar Parliament on the question of whether it should be ratified.”

“For this debate to be meaningful the Opposition should receive the actual treaty text with time to consider it.”

“The Government already referred to the highly technical nature of the content in Parliament which no doubt may carry implications across other documents or legal provisions.”

“We note that some private sector representative groups and some public sector departments are being informed as to aspects of the treaty, without being shown the text, and that they are being told the so-called ‘legal scrub’ has finished.”

“If so, the Government would be in possession of the final text or as close to it as possible so as to give the Opposition meaningful advance notice before the Parliamentary debate.”

“Indeed, with some fanfare Gibraltar was informed a couple of weeks ago that the Cabinet had approved the - at that stage unscrubbed - text of the treaty.”

“This will be a seminal moment for Gibraltar and the public would expect that the treaty is subjected to proper scrutiny and the fullest debate possible.”

“We have given the Government plenty of political space over the last 10 years to negotiate the deals it has sought to enter into.”

“It’s now time for the Opposition to receive a copy of the proposed treaty in full.”

“Concerns have already been expressed as to scant information, poor consultation and inadequate transition preparation time to adjust to new systems.”

“Keeping the Opposition in the dark until the eleventh hour as the Government sought to do with the Openshaw Inquiry Report will compromise the debate even further.

“Of course, unless this is precisely what the Government want to do to skew the coming debate.”