MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, makes informal visit to La Linea and met Mayor Juan Franco.

Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo with La Linea Mayor Juan Franco

The opportunity was taken to take a walk around the center of the neighboring town, where Mr Picardo had the chance to greet several businessmen and citizens. The Mayor arranged for a lunch in a well-known bar/restaurant in the center of town, which enabled those invited to exchange views on the current situation with the Chief Minister.

The desire for a deal on the post-Brexit situation and how it affects the area was paramount in the discussions. Everyone expressed their desire for a satisfactory arrangement as soon as possible.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: ”I was delighted to meet with Juan Franco in La Linea and to have the opportunity to discuss with him how important we all felt a safe, secure and beneficial agreement would be not just for Gibraltar, but also for La Linea and the Campo.

Picardo reaffirmed that “the positions which we had advanced and the proposals we had made could lead to a Treaty being agreed tomorrow if Spain and the European Union agreed to the terms we had proposed, which were designed to be safe, secure and beneficial for Gibraltar, whilst securing the safety and integrity of the Schengen area and compliance with the obligations relating to the area of free movement of goods and the single market. If those are accepted, we could have a deal tomorrow.”