‘It’s time to do this deal,’ UK ambassador says of Gib treaty negotiation

Sir Alex Ellis, the UK’s ambassador to Spain, told a breakfast forum in Madrid on Tuesday that he could see “the determination of all parties” to reach agreement on a post-Brexit UK/EU treaty for Gibraltar, adding: “It’s time to do this deal.”

Sir Alex was answering questions at an event organised by Forum Europa’s Nueva Economia Forum, during which he reflected on the UK/Spain relationship and the UK Government’s work to reset its relationship with the European Union.

Asked about the current status of the Gibraltar negotiation, Sir Alex highlighted comments made in the wake of the UK/EU summit last Monday by senior figures ranging from European Council President Antonio Costa to the foreign affairs ministers of both the UK and Spain, the European Commission’s chief negotiator and the Chief Minister.

All of them had publicly underscored the shared commitment to reach an agreement and their optimism that the treaty negotiation will be successfully concluded.

“It’s time to do this deal,” Sir Alex told the forum.

“It’s not easy for anyone, but it’s very important.”

Asked if he was optimistic about the outcome of the negotiation, he replied: “After working on Brexit and after living in India, I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic.”

“But what I do see is the determination of all parties to reach an agreement.”

Sir Alex is a career diplomat who took up the post of UK ambassador in Madrid last November, succeeding Hugh Elliot.

During the briefing, he answered questions on the London summit this week and the UK’s desire to reset its relationship with the EU after Brexit.

“It’s time to turn the page [on Brexit],” he said.

“It’s time to look to the future, because the challenges we face force us to look at the reality we have today, the opportunities that are there, but also the threats.”

“This world that we are in now has changed profoundly from the world I knew when I first entered diplomacy in 1990,” he added, citing challenges like the real threat of war in Europe, climate change and the technological revolution.

“No country can face those challenges alone.”

The ambassador also underlined the importance to the UK of its bilateral relationship with Spain.

Sir Alex said Spain had “a very important role” in the UK’s newly reset relationship with the EU, where it is an “influential” member of the bloc.

He said the two countries “already have a very wide bilateral relationship” at a human and commercial level.

“What we now need is a strategic relationship, and it is essential,” Sir Alex added.

“Because the challenges that we face in Europe are of course human and economic, but they are also strategic, for two reasons.”

“We all have to be capable of dealing with conflict and threats that are coming from the east and also the south.”

“And secondly, the United Kingdom is on a path to reinforce its alliances, and that is what happened on Monday with the European Union, and that is what we want to do with Spain too.”

It is “essential” that two advanced economies like the UK and Spain build closer ties, he added.