Gibraltar has the potential to become a Brexit success story

I would like to take the opportunity this evening affords me to reflect briefly on the progress we have made over the past year or so as we prepare to leave the European Union.

As you all know, 96% of Gibraltar voted to remain in the EU. This was a powerful statement.

After that vote, many thought that Europe would love Gibraltar. We thought that Brussels would embrace us. But that did not happen.

Instead, little over a year ago, at the insistence of Spain, a specific Gibraltar veto-clause was inserted in the EU Council’s negotiating guidelines.

So we find ourselves in a situation that we did not vote for; in a position where we clearly do not want to be and heading in a direction in which we do not want to go.

We knew that there would be challenges on the way. There are countless challenges for the United Kingdom itself.

However, it is true to say that Gibraltar faces challenges which are quite unique and which are not shared by the other members of the British family of nations.

SHAMEFUL VETO

The shameful veto clause came as a considerable blow to a hugely pro-European community.

The clause was rejected both by Gibraltar and by the United Kingdom itself.

It is the EU’s position not the UK’s.

Nonetheless, it confirmed the fear that Spain might seek to take advantage of the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union to revive its outdated sovereignty claim over the Rock.

You will recall that this intention had been spelt out clearly by the Spanish Foreign Minister Mr Margallo himself at the time of the Referendum.

The UK, he said, was leaving. Gibraltar, he said, would be out. Shared sovereignty, he said, was the price to pay for any post-Brexit relationship with the EU.

For our part, we remain secure in the knowledge that Gibraltar can count on our many friends in the United Kingdom to work with us, to advance our interests and to defend our position.

But make no mistake about it, if the choice open to us were Europe with 50% Spanish sovereignty or no Europe and 100% British - then we are British and we are out.

However, that was never the real choice.

Indeed, the new Spanish Foreign Minister Mr Dastis subsequently made it clear that Spain would not seek sovereignty gains as a result of the Brexit negotiations.

SUPPORT FOR GIBRALTAR

Despite this, it was particularly encouraging at the time to receive messages of support from the Devolved Administrations.

Also from our many friends in the Westminster Parliament who have been forthright and robust in defending the interests of Gibraltar.

Indeed, it is worth recalling that the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, all represented here today, included the protection of Gibraltar’s interests in their general election manifestos.

Gibraltar is grateful too for the support expressed by the leadership and the members of the Democratic Unionist Party when I went over to Belfast in December. I am pleased that one of their Assembly Members is also with us here today.

In response to the uncertainty that was generated at the time, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis told our Chief Minister that there would be no UK/EU agreement without Gibraltar.

This means that the United Kingdom cannot claim a successful Brexit for itself without Gibraltar being a part of it.

Brexit in any other context would be a failure.

The support that Gibraltar receives from the UK is, arguably, one of those rare unifying forces in British politics today.We are proud of that.

No matter what the ideological stand on other issues, or the position on the political spectrum, the defence of our interests is a matter on which there is broad agreement at Westminster.

This high-level cross-party support for Gibraltar in Parliament is matched by the positive spirit with which the UK and Gibraltar Government teams are working together.

We identified early on the importance of securing a number of bilateral UK-Gibraltar deliverables parallel to our discussions with the European Union.

Some of these were concluded in March of this year.

The result is continued access to the United Kingdom market for financial services and on-line gaming entities based in Gibraltar.

This has ring-fenced an important area of economic activity.

There were also significant agreements on tuition fees for our students and in the area of health.

This is in no small part due to the efforts of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar.

The Chief Minister addressed the Group in London this morning.

It is also a reflection, of the determination, on the part of many people in this room, to make the best of Brexit.

On 19 March the draft legal text on the transition was published jointly by the UK and the EU.

This correctly applies to Gibraltar because the territorial clause that refers to us is coloured in green. And green means agreement.

There is then an asterix with text which refers to the Spanish veto clause.

This has remained the subject of disagreement in white.

IN NOBODY’S INTERESTS

The very notion that Gibraltar should be excluded from the transition or the future relationship agreements beggars belief.

This is in nobody’s interests.Nobody has anything to gain by leaving Gibraltar out.

And many thousands of people in Gibraltar and in Spain itself have much to lose.

Transition is an extension of the existing legal order. The extension of that legal order to all the UK family of nations except this small corner of Europe would represent discrimination of the worst possible kind.

You will know that as we prepare to leave the European Union, the UK Government, as the Member State responsible, is negotiating on behalf of the Devolved Administrations (3), the Crown Dependencies (3) and the Overseas Territories (14).

In that process, Ministers and officials of the United Kingdom Government continue to engage closely with the Government of Gibraltar and Member States of the European Union, including Spain, to discuss the implications arising from our own EU departure.

As has already been said, the Government of Gibraltar is directly involved in meetings which are relevant to Gibraltar.

There has been speculation in the media this week about Gibraltar Airport.

Let me make it absolutely clear that Gibraltar will not cede an inch of our sovereignty, jurisdiction and control.

It is important to understand that this is about more than actual sovereignty. The symbols and the ingredients of power are just as important. You cannot separate one from the other, particularly against the background of a continuing territorial claim.

In other words, it is a contradiction in terms to put sovereignty to one side and then seek to advance the symbols of sovereignty in the same breath.

The red lines of the Gibraltar Government in relation to the airport are very clear.

The red lines of the Spanish Government are clear as well.

There is space between those sets of red lines to seek positive cooperation with practical, modern solutions which do not cross any of them.

Many of you will know that in 2006, an agreement between Gibraltar, the United Kingdom and Spain provided for the enhanced use of Gibraltar Airport.

This involved the relocation of the air terminal to the frontier fence and the construction of an adjoining building on the Spanish side where they would carry out their own controls from their own territory.

This was concluded before we were elected into Government.

There were aspects of the Agreement that the existing Governments of Gibraltar and of Spain did not like at the time when we were both in Opposition.

It can nonetheless still serve as the basis for a broader discussion.

The Government of Gibraltar remains ready to engage with Spain, as our next door neighbour, in a positive and constructive manner as we prepare to leave the European Union.

Because it is in all our interests to continue to develop the wider region economically.

Gibraltar employs 13,000 frontier workers.

People representing every single Member State of the European Union who live in Spain and work in Gibraltar. 8000 of them are Spanish citizens.

In a very real sense, we are a microcosm of what the European project is all about and it would be a tragedy if this were lost going forward.

• Gibraltar residents spend over £70 million a year in Spain.

• Gibraltar companies purchase nearly £400 million a year from businesses in Spain.

• All our construction material comes from Spain, for example.

• Gibraltar accounts for 25% of the GDP of the neighbouring area and is the second largest employer for the entire region of Andalucia.

I had the pleasure of meeting with the Cross Border Group on Tuesday. They represent trade unions and business organisations from both sides of the frontier. It is clear that we are on the same page.

We are agreed that there needs to be a fluid border post-Brexit for the movement of persons and the movement of goods.

However, this must be extended to residents and to citizens in general, not only to workers.

Spain has indicated that they have no wish to complicate passage through the frontier.

Neither do we.

SHARED PROSPERITY

There is scope for the generation of even greater shared prosperity than already exists at present.Gibraltar needs more land space and more workers.

It is possible to conceive of a future where international firms are headquartered in Gibraltar and provided with warehousing or manufacturing facilities on the Spanish side.

We have the expertise and they have the space.

Imagine the jobs and imagine the economic activity and the wealth that we could generate together!Shared prosperity already exists.

It can be multiplied further still.

However, international investors would need the security of a fluid border for this vision to materialise.

Gibraltar has the potential to become an unlikely Brexit success story. This can happen if the political goodwill exists to make it happen.

Our geopolitical reality can be a major advantage in trade and in growth.

This was recognised as far back as the Phoenicians, for whom the Strait of Gibraltar was a valued trade route!

Today, the waters outside of these windows are part of the busiest and most important shipping lanes in the world.

Gibraltar already enjoys historic connections and friendly relationships worldwide, including with the United States and in North Africa.

We are now building further our relationship with the Commonwealth.

Having said that, and whilst there is certainly cause for optimism, we must not become complacent.

Through our combined, sustained efforts, we need to protect the position of Gibraltar as we leave the European Union.

We must do our utmost to ensure that Gibraltar is not discriminated against or left behind.

We look to you, to our friends in the United Kingdom, for continued support.

At the same time, we thank you for coming here.

There is nothing like seeing Gibraltar to understand Gibraltar.

Your presence is a reflection of your continued interest. And as we are all acutely aware, there is still much work to be done.

The negotiating guidelines that will direct the EU’s position are diametrically opposed to the views of both the Governments of the UK and of Gibraltar.

BRITISH VALUES AND TRADITION

It is up to all of us to capitalise on what we have achieved so far. But whilst we iron out the details, let us be absolutely clear.

Gibraltar has enjoyed over three hundred years of British rule. This is longer than the United States, Germany or Italy have existed.

In that time, we have come of age under the broad umbrella of British values, traditions and way of life.

There are some lessons that we have learnt extremely well.One such lesson is never to give in to bullies. And you can rest assured that we never will.

21-05-18 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR