An agreement to preserve the free movement of goods and people between Gibraltar and Spain after the post-Brexit transition period is over will not be easy to achieve, but remains possible, the enclave's head of government said British to AFP.
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Madrid, London and Gibraltar are negotiating the deal alongside talks on a trade deal between the EU and the UK, which officially left the bloc on January 31.
This country has since entered a transition period until December 31, during which it continues to apply European standards.
“
We are working extraordinarily hard to seal a deal.
This does not mean that a deal is easy, but it is always what we want,
”Fabian Picardo said Wednesday in an interview with AFP.
The small British enclave in the far south of Spain is 100% dependent on imports for food for its population of 34,000.
And every day, around 15,000 cross-border workers come to work from Spain.
Without an agreement, trade in goods between Gibraltar and Spain would be subject to customs duties from January 1, with the negative economic consequences that would imply.
In order to prepare for such an eventuality, Mr Picardo assures us that his government "
works with suppliers outside Gibraltar (...) to be sure, if necessary, of being able to obtain (...) food and all the essential goods we need to run our economy and prevent it from collapsing
”.
“
This contingency plan is for essential goods, but life would change dramatically for the worse if there was no deal.
And not just for the people of Gibraltar,
”he warns.
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Spain ceded Gibraltar to the British crown in 1713 as part of the Treaty of Utrecht, but it has continued to claim sovereignty since.
Tensions peaked in 1969 when Spanish dictator Francisco Franco closed the border, which only fully reopened in 1985. In 2013, Spain stepped up its controls, creating problems at the border, until for Brussels to intervene.
"
I do not envisage that the border will be closed after January 1, whatever the scenario
", underlines Fabian Picardo.
The head of government of Gibraltar also reaffirmed that the British enclave was considering joining the Schengen area, of which the United Kingdom never belonged, in order to avoid any interference with free movement with Spain.
"
We are looking for an agreement allowing maximum fluidity
" in terms of the movement of people, he said.
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