Gibraltar: Foreign Secretary travels to UK-Gibraltar Joint Ministerial Council

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will today, 29 March, attend the UK-Gibraltar Joint Ministerial Council and hold bilateral talks with the Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.

During the visit, the Foreign Secretary will reaffirm the UK’s commitment to reaching agreement on a future treaty between the UK and EU in respect of Gibraltar.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

As a valued member of the UK family, we stand side by side with Gibraltar as we enter into the forthcoming negotiations with the EU on Gibraltar’s future relationship.

We are committed to delivering a treaty which safeguards UK’s sovereignty of Gibraltar and supports the prosperity of both Gibraltar and the surrounding region.

The UK-Gibraltar Joint Ministerial Council is the highest negotiating forum for ministers to come together and discuss matters of shared importance. The Joint Ministerial Council (Gibraltar EU Negotiations) was originally formed to discuss the UK’s exit from the European Union, but has come into its own as a forum for agile discussion between the UK and Gibraltar across the range of shared interests.

Background

• As a result of the position taken by the EU, Gibraltar was not covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
• The UK, working side by side with the Government of Gibraltar, reached a political agreement with Spain on 31 December 2020 on a framework for Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU.
• This framework provides the basis for a treaty between the EU and UK regarding Gibraltar. The European Commission are currently developing their own mandate for the negotiation of a Treaty. This will then need to be agreed by the European Council before negotiations begin.
• The key issue for the negotiation is border fluidity – maintaining mutually beneficial fluidity of movement for people and also of goods between Gibraltar and the surrounding region.