Chief minister of Gibraltar to meet Susana Diaz, president of the Junta de Andalucía, for Brexit talks

Fabian Picardo and Susana Diaz will discuss possible increased cooperation to generate more economic activity and employment

Debbie Bartlett

Friday, 19 January 2018, 11:04

The chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, will be holding a meeting with Susana Diaz, the president of the Junta de Andalucia, in Seville on 25 January.

The meeting has been scheduled following the contribution from the Andalusian regional government to a report published by the EU Committee of Regions on the impact of the departure of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar from the European Union.

As a consequence of that report, Picardo wrote to Diaz to suggest that they should discuss the potential consequences which Brexit could have on businesses and citizens in Gibraltar and in Spain.

In his letter, he made the point that Gibraltar's departure from the EU should be handled in a positive and constructive manner, and one that creates the minimum amount of disruption.

According to a statement issued by the Gibraltar government, the idea of this meeting is to explore the possibilities of increased cooperation with the Junta de Andalucía, with the objective of generating more economic activity and employment in a way which provides shared benefits and prosperity for all, on both sides of the frontier.

The Gibraltar government has pointed out in recent months that a great deal of its time is spent dealing with Brexit and its potential consequences, and this is still the case on many different levels.

In addition to talks with local authorities in the Campo de Gibraltar and now the Junta in Seville, and frequent trips to London for discussions with high-ranking politicians in the UK government, members of the Gibraltar government have also been holding talks with the local business community.

This week, deputy chief minister Dr Joseph Garcia also discussed Brexit with schoolchildren from Bayside and Westside Schools and the College of Further Education, who visited the EU institutions last autumn.

They were the fourth group to have made the trip so far, and their presentation showed that they were clearly impressed by what they saw and the people with whom they had the opportunity to talk.

Dr Garcia explained that the government had left no stone unturned in its efforts to put the Gibraltar point of view to decision-makers in Brussels and London, and he talked about the issues regarding the border, access to the single market, the UK market and future trade agreements between the UK and third parties.

He outlined the commitments that had been secured from the UK government so far, and stressed that the EU would still be there post-Brexit and that Gibraltar would still need to have a relationship with it.

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