Tempered optimism ahead of high-level political negotiating round in Brussels today

Negotiators for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar will meet in Brussels this morning for a high-level political negotiating round in a bid to progress toward an agreement that will guarantee post-Brexit border fluidity for people and goods.

The meeting, scheduled to run from 10.30am to 2pm in the Commission’s Berlaymont building, will bring together Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares and Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

Ahead of the meeting, all sides signalled their continued commitment to conclude a treaty for the benefit of communities on either side of the border.

But it was clear too that areas of disagreement remain, including how Schengen checks as part of any agreement will be implemented in practice.

Spain wants its armed uniformed officers to be present in Gibraltar, something the Gibraltar and UK governments have ruled out.

To date, all sides have refrained from providing any details on the specific nature of the remaining gaps in the negotiation.

But the presence of senior ministers at today’s meeting, the third of its kind, suggests they will focus on trying to unblock the most complex practical issues that remain.

The UK has said it continues to work closely with the Gibraltar Government to conclude a treaty which protects British sovereignty, UK military autonomy and secures prosperity for Gibraltar and the Campo region.

Over the past week, the UK Government also reaffirmed its double-lock sovereignty commitment to the people of Gibraltar, adding it will not agree to a treaty unless Gibraltar is content.

The negotiation has now dragged out for three years, disrupted at times by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and elections in Spain, Gibraltar, the UK and the EU itself.

On occasion during that period, there were public statements that a deal was almost sealed. But the complexity of the negotiation meant agreement has so far proved elusive.

Negotiators have always avoided setting a deadline for conclusion of the talks but the forthcoming entry into force of the EU’s new automated Entry/Exit System on November 10 has focused minds.

Without an agreement in place the fear is that the new system will lead to lengthy delays at the border in both directions, given Gibraltar will reciprocate any new measures on the Spanish side.

On Wednesday there were reports that the full implementation of the new system, which includes fingerprint and facial recognition checks, could be delayed after countries including Germany and France expressed concern and said they are not ready.

An EU-wide delay to the implementation date would offer additional breathing space to negotiators concerned about the impact of the Entry/Exit System at Gibraltar’s border with Spain.

The Chronicle has asked the European Commission for comment on this but has yet to receive a reply.

The Chief Minister expressed tempered optimism ahead of today’s meeting, which follows months of technical negotiation since the last political meeting in May.

“What I have said repeatedly is that we need to find an arrangement that enables us all to win and none of us to lose,” Mr Picardo said on GBC’s Direct Democracy on Wednesday night.

“We've all got red lines. We've got to ensure that those red lines don't cross.”

“So a lot of this technical work is about finding technical solutions which are not the straightforward technical solutions you might have applied in other circumstances, but technical solutions that do not also engage crossing of red lines and allow everybody to continue to be a victor.”

Mr Picardo said all sides were showing good will to push the negotiation forward.

“Will it get us over the line to be able to say, we now have an agreement on all of the issues, or we still have work to do? I don't know,” he added.

“I'm going into that room to do the things I have to do for Gibraltar, the things that I've defended all of my life in Gibraltar, that my party has defended in all of its existence, that most Gibraltarians have defended always, and not to achieve a timetable, because if you go into a negotiation to do something by a particular time, you're already starting to feel the tension on your throat, because you're making that a choke point for yourself.”