Political agreement ‘would not exist if I had opposed it’, Sir Joe says

Sir Joe Bossano, who for over five decades has championed Gibraltar’s British sovereignty and its right to self-determination, said he was wholly behind the political agreement for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar.

Speaking to Jonathan Scott on GBC’s Viewpoint, Sir Joe was robust in dispelling social media rumours of a cabinet split on the agreement.

“We would not be considering this if I did not support it,” Sir Joe said.

“It's logical that should be so, because I have led every battle that Gibraltar has had in the last 50 odd years to stop Spain getting one millimetre of our territory.”

“So I am therefore telling you that to have any doubts about my position is not logical, because this would not exist if I had opposed it.”

“I am supporting this and I'm asking people to support it if they trust me for all that I have done in the 50 years that I've been in public life.”

Sir Joe said that while much of the public discussion about the political agreement had focused “on the nitty gritty”, it was important not to lose sight of the context of why the agreement came about.

The UK’s decision in a narrow vote in the 2016 referendum had been seen by Spain and its then foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, as “the best opportunity in 300 years to get hold of Gibraltar”.

Spain saw in Brexit a situation that would cause a problem for Gibraltar, whose economic model depended on cross-border labour.

Had Gibraltar not agreed the New Year’s Eve framework and faced a hard border on January 1, 2021, Gibraltar’s economy would have taken a massive hit, with knock-on effects on public services.

Without border fluidity, international companies that operate from Gibraltar and provide a mainstay of Government revenue through the taxes they pay would have left the Rock.

In that scenario, “we might not even have GBC”, Sir Joe said.

Asked by a viewer whether any of Gibraltar’s red lines had been crossed in the negotiation, Sir Joe was clear.

“Absolutely none of them,” he said.

“Because the red lines are the red lines that say we are putting Gibraltar in danger, and I haven't spent 50 years fighting UK and Spain to put Gibraltar in danger my 86th year of life.”

Asked by another viewer whether the deal envisaged Spanish “boots on the ground”, Sir Joe was clear too.

“I think this ‘boots on the ground’ business is nonsense,” he said.

“We are not going to have any non-Gibraltarian person being able to exercise authority in Gibraltar over anybody, whether he comes with boots or with slippers or barefoot.”

In explaining the need for Schengen controls at Gibraltar airport, Sir Joe likened the situation to being allowed access to a club of which Gibraltar is not a member.

“If we are being allowed access to the club, then it is obvious that we cannot be the doorkeeper that decides who else can enter the club, it has to be a member of the club,” he said.

“We will never be a member of the club unless we become decolonised and then we become a member of the EU in our own right as a decolonised sovereign state.”

“Until that happens, if it ever happens, then our relationship has to be a relationship which is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the basis that there are obligations that we have, and that the nearest Schengen state has to be answerable for ensuring that we are keeping to the rules that we are required to keep for the benefits that we're getting.”

Sir Joe also offered insight into the complexity of the negotiation, which last nearly four years and involved 19 formal rounds of talks alongside constant technical work in between.

Negotiating with Spain was difficult, he said, adding: “If they tell you in the morning what they’re prepared to accept, don’t guarantee that it’s still there in the afternoon.”

“So when we thought we had dealt with one particular area, they would come back afterwards saying, ok, yes, we did say we could accept that, but now we are not able to deliver on what we said.”

Spain had seen in Brexit an opportunity to “drive a wedge” between London and Gibraltar and had sought in the negotiation to “get a foot in the door”.

During a wide-ranging interview, Sir Joe, an economist, acknowledged that any change in a market would “normally have winners and losers”.

And while he could not predict with certainty that Gibraltar would be better off after the changes envisaged by the treaty – though he believed it would – he was certain that it would not be worse off than today.

Looking ahead, he repeated his previously stated view that Gibraltar must work to become a leader in artificial intelligence and automation as a key to its future economic growth.

“We have got to be number one in Europe on that,” he said.

“That is much more important than anything that can put business at risk in Gibraltar.”

“If our people are at the top of technology, then it doesn't matter if you pay high wages because a technological advantage means that you can still compete with anybody else.”

He also maintained his long-standing position that, even with a deal that guaranteed frontier fluidity, Gibraltar should continue to reduce its dependence on cross-frontier labour.

The treaty is indefinite and does not have an expiry date, but there was still a need for caution moving forward.

“We're in a new situation where we cannot guarantee that this deal will last forever,” he said.

“We cannot guarantee that a more hostile Spanish government would not come and try and undo it.”

“So what we need to do is become self-sufficient, control our cost and make sure that we can maintain the standard of living, make sure that we continue to be the only country that pays for the level of education, that has free medicines for pensioners.”

“All the things that we fought and won are at risk if we don't get the economy right.”

And he added: “What we mustn't do is put the guard down like we did when we were in the European Union.”