Junta to draw up Brexit plans

The Junta de Andalucia will set up a committee to prepare measures to mitigate the impact of Brexit on the region.

Andalucia is the largest recipient of British tourists in all of Spain and has a border with Gibraltar, making it one the Spanish regions most affected by Brexit.

Elías Bendodo, the regional government’s spokesman, said Andalucia “must be prepared, whether or not there is an agreed exit”.

The decision to set up a Brexit committee was taken yesterday after a meeting of the Junta’s cabinet.

The committee will consist of representatives from all the Junta’s departments and will be tasked with drawing up an action plan within two months.

The Junta – which is now governed by the Partido Popular and Ciudadanos, with support from Vox – will map out its plans in parallel to national contingency measures drawn up by the Spanish Government and to EU-wide measures prepared by the EU.

Last month Spain adopted a Royal Decree setting out “temporary and unilateral” contingency measures to mitigate the impact of Brexit, all of which will apply not just to British citizens and companies in Spain, but to those in Gibraltar too.

The measures in the draft legislation would apply even in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit but would require reciprocity by the UK.