Tuesday, February 4, 2020 - 10:39

The Government says it is not surprised that the negotiating guidelines of the European Council once again single out Gibraltar for special mention. This is in line with a similar approach that the EU took in previous documents in 2017 and 2018.

It should not come as a shock to anyone that the EU should adopt the position of Ireland on Northern Ireland, the position of Cyprus on the UK Sovereign Bases and the position of Spain on Gibraltar.

However, the hostile attitude to a small country of 30,000 people by a huge supra-national organisation will nonetheless be seen as tantamount to bullying and discrimination.

It should be obvious by now that neither the Government nor the people of Gibraltar will be intimidated.

Moreover, this approach constitutes the very opposite of what the EU preaches.

The Government says: 'Article 2 of the Treaty EU says that the Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. It adds that these values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail.

'Indeed, the approach to Gibraltar runs counter to the obligation in Article 8 of the same Treaty to develop a special relationship with neighbouring countries, aiming to establish an area of prosperity and good neighbourliness, founded on the values of the Union and characterised by close and peaceful relations based on cooperation.

'It is important to recall that the latest guidelines represent the view of the negotiating entity across the table. It is not the view of the United Kingdom.

'Indeed, the Government welcome the fact that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has today once again made it clear that the UK will be negotiating on behalf of the entire UK family and that this includes Gibraltar.

'In any case, it is not clear at this stage whether a UK-EU agreement will materialise from the negotiations or indeed what shape or form this will take and consequently whether such an agreement would be relevant to Gibraltar or not.

The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said:

"There is nothing surprising in the EU guideline issued today. Frankly, however, to see further insistence on exclusion of Gibraltar says very little for the EU. We will remain positive and forward looking.

"We believe that a deal that guarantees border fluidity is the key to guaranteeing even greater shared prosperity for Gibraltar and for the whole region around us. But that fluidity must be guaranteed on a non-discriminatory basis and not just favour frontier workers over Gibraltar residents, because we will not agree to that.

"This is a time for maturity and generosity. We will be up to the task and challenge ahead of us. I hope larger entities than us will too."