In Madrid briefing, CM points to ‘stronger future through cooperation’

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo used a high-profile breakfast briefing in Madrid on Thursday to signal a change in Gibraltar’s relations with Spain that would open new opportunities for growth benefiting communities on either side of the border.

Addressing the Forum Europa in The Palace Hotel just metres from the Spanish Parliament, he said differences on sovereignty had been parked to one side to focus instead on protecting the interests of people both in Gibraltar and the Campo through cooperation and coordination.

In the audience were ambassadors and diplomats, businesspeople and executives, and more than a handful of journalists from Spain’s national media and international news agencies.

The fact he was on stage at all was itself evident of a shift in relations with Spain.

Mr Picardo had been due to speak at the forum in 2015 but that briefing was cancelled under pressure from then PP Spanish government, whose Foreign Minister at the time was Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo.

After the 2016 vote, the Chief Minister told guests, politicians were faced with the challenge of rebuilding the “bridges, links and bonds” that had been “broken” by Brexit.

Gibraltar had voted overwhelmingly to remain in EU and both the EU and Spain had heard its voice, he said.

“Brexit was a step back that others took,” he said.

Instead, “we have taken some giant steps forward” toward a future of “cooperation, coordination and coexistence”, something vital for younger generations who live in “a virtual world with no borders”.

The agreement focused on “dialogue and common sense” and placed “people over politics”, he said.

After over three centuries “with a model that has taken us nowhere…what other alternative was there in the 21^st century?” he added.

Mr Picardo was careful not to explicitly criticise opposition parties in Spain including the Partido Popular and Vox, respectful of where he was and acknowledging their right to hold views he disagreed with.

But he left no doubt as to his own stance.

Challenging “political poker players” who argue that Spain had missed the opportunity presented by Brexit to progress its sovereignty aspirations, Mr Picardo said these were outdated ideas.

“Does anyone really think that something could be imposed on Gibraltarians without their consent?” he said.

Despite an upbeat message, the Chief Minister also left no doubt that the treaty was not “a panacea”.

“This is not a magic wand that will fix all problems,” he said, adding: “Let’s not pretend that it is.”

The Chief Minister sketched out the main elements of the treaty in respect of border fluidity and trade.

He also proposed a series of ideas for how the agreement could generate cross-border economic activity.

There was no reason, he said, why a Spanish bank or insurer could not obtain a licence in Gibraltar and benefit from its access to the UK market for services.

Likewise, thanks to the earlier tax treaty and transparent exchange of information with the Spanish tax authorities, there was no reason why a Gibraltar company could not be used for investments in Spain.

Gibraltar’s common law system, he said, was much more “agile” than Spain’s civil law, particularly when it came to resolving disputes.

He championed the knowledge and expertise already available on both sides of the border and said attracting new business would ultimately benefit communities on either side.

If that know-how is tapped, “we’re going to fly”, he said.

Mr Picardo told guests at the briefing that the Gibraltar Government had commissioned Ernst & Young to prepare a report identifying the opportunities arising from the agreement.

“It identifies many opportunities in the area where we operate [and] we will publish it soon,” he said, highlighting too scope for cross-border cooperation in areas such as tourism and logistics.

After his address, Mr Picardo took questions from the audience channelled through the moderator.

Some focused on the treaty and sought a better understanding of what had been agreed in areas such as trade, mobility and labour rights.

Perhaps inevitably, there were questions too on thornier matters such as sovereignty and age-old bugbears including the environment.

Quizzed on bunkering and land reclamation, Mr Picardo said Gibraltar adhered to international standards and its East side reclamation had been examined by the European Commission following a complaint, which found Gibraltar had complied with its obligations.

Gibraltar had no problem adhering to EU environmental legislation because it had done just that while a member prior to Brexit, he said, adding it was “a myth” to say otherwise.

Addressing claims of “aggressive” tax policies, he reminded the audience that Gibraltar applied the OECD minimum in corporate taxation, as did several other EU countries.

On sovereignty, he repeated statements from a day earlier, saying the different positions were safeguarded in one article in a treaty running to over 1000 pages.

He referenced Margaret Thatcher when he said there was a simple response to Spain’s sovereignty aspirations: “No. No. No.”

But while those differences would remain and continue to be argued during annual appearances before the United Nations, the day-to-day focus should be on shared interests.

Mr Picardo accepted there were conflicting positions on sovereignty, “but let’s focus on what we can do together”.

Putting the Gibraltar agreement within its broader context, Mr Picardo said the treaty could offer “a route map” for wider “rapprochement” between the UK and the EU, at a time when London was working to reset its relations with the bloc after Brexit against the backdrop of conflict in Ukraine and Middle East.

Asked if he believed the UK would one day rejoin the EU, he replied “I hope so”, adding he hoped too that UK politicians would one day have the conviction to present that option to voters, including those who backed Brexit in 2016 but had since understood it was a mistake.

He was asked too about the stance of Spanish opposition parties who believe the treaty should be debated and voted on in the Spanish parliament, reminding the audience that the European Council, after a legal analysis, had agreed that it was an EU-only agreement and that ratification would be by the European Parliament, whose MEPs he urged to support the deal.

“Who wins more, Gibraltar or the Campo de Gibraltar?” Mr Picardo was asked at one point.

“People,” he replied instinctively.

There was a moment of awkward silence until the moderator asked: “Did you have that one prepared?”

The treaty, Mr Picardo replied, sought to apply EU values to the post-Brexit relationship between Gibraltar and the Campo, adding Spain was a country that championed dialogue.

“How can you believe in dialogue with some but not others?” he said.

“This is too important to be looked at as if it were a football match where one scores a goal over another.”