A three-day symposium entitled “Bordering on Brexit: Global Britain and the Embers of the Empire” will be held next month at the Garrison Library in Gibraltar. The conference will commence after an opening speech by Gibraltar Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia, and throughout the event speakers will analyse different aspects of Brexit in detail.
The Government of Gibraltar has, since 2016, been preparing for all possible outcomes in relation to the departure of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar from the European Union. This is a perfectly sensible thing to do in view of the ongoing UK/EU discussions and the preparations for all eventualities announced by both sides.
Influential EU states such as Germany, France and Spain will block any attempt by the UK to remain within the single market for goods without freedom of movement, the Spanish Foreign Minister has said. Josep Borrell said that some smaller EU states might privately be willing to negotiate reform of the bloc’s free movement rules in order to keep easy access to UK products.
The Falkland Islands flag is currently flying above No 6 Convent Place to commemorate the Falkland Islands’ Liberation Day.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the United Nations on Monday that Gibraltar was ready to work with Spain’s new Socialist government for the mutual benefit of citizens on both sides of the border. This, he underscored, did not deviate from Gibraltar’s cast-iron position on sovereignty and the principle of self-determination.
The UK said it continued to work with Gibraltar towards a Brexit deal that “fully recognizes the priorities of the Rock”. The Department for Exiting the European Union made the statement after the seventh meeting of the Joint Ministerial Council between the United Kingdom and Gibraltar Governments, which took place in London at the Cabinet Office on Monday morning.
Gibraltar was discussed in Madrid on Saturday during a wide-ranging meeting on Brexit between the UK’s Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington, and Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alfonso Dastis. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Lidington expressed confidence that a constructive agreement would be reached on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit relations with Spain and the wider EU.
A cross-party group of UK parliamentarians is in Gibraltar on a two-day working visit. The visit takes place against the backdrop of the negotiations for the United Kingdom and Gibraltar to leave the European Union, which means that it will centre on Brexit issues.
Brexit must make us think anew and refresh Gibraltar’s relationship with the UK. It is time for the Rock to have a Member of Parliament, writes MP Craig Mackinlay (*) The Overseas Territory that now sits in a unique constitutional position post-Brexit is Gibraltar.
Internal divisions on Gibraltar within Spain’s ruling Partido Popular have been laid bare in two versions of a parliamentary motion to be debated in the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Spanish Senate on Thursday.