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<\/p>\nThe UK\/EU treaty on Gibraltar\u00a0is\u00a0a \u201cpragmatic outcome\u201d\u00a0that\u00a0will guarantee \u201chugely important\u201d border fluidity\u00a0for the\u00a0benefit\u00a0communities on either side of frontier, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the UK Minister for EU Relations, said on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Thomas-Symonds was speaking during a breakfast briefing in Madrid organised by Nueva Economia Forum and attended by diplomats and business representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Thomas-Symonds spoke primarily about the UK\u2019s reset of its relations with the EU and Spain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the UK\u2019s\u00a0future\u00a0\u201cis inextricably bound with that of Europe\u201d,\u00a0adding: \u201cThe Britain of the Brexit years is behind us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the briefing, Mr Thomas-Symonds was asked\u00a0from the audience\u00a0about the Gibraltar treaty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you guarantee today that the pact will\u00a0offer lasting legal certainty and full economic fluidity without this entailing explicitly or implicitly, any concession in the British position on sovereignty?\u201d he was asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWill a system be consolidated that eliminates systematic physical checks at the border fence and ensures the smooth circulation of Spanish and European workers in the Campo de Gibraltar?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow will the new agreement avoid tensions in taxation and regulatory competition that could create uncertainty for businesses established in the Campo de Gibraltar and in the territory?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was also asked when he\u00a0expected that the agreement on Gibraltar\u00a0would\u00a0be debated and approved in the\u00a0UK\u00a0Parliament, and whether this would be\u00a0it be\u00a0before\u00a0April\u00a010 or whether it\u00a0be applied provisionally\u00a0pending ratification by the UK and European parliaments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr Thomas-Symonds\u00a0avoided answering the questions with any degree of depth, saying only that\u00a0the treaty text \u201cwill obviously be published shortly,\u00a0so everybody will be able to see the details\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut let me just say in terms of this, because it is very important, this was something that was left after the Brexit process, after the United Kingdom had left the European Union,\u201d\u00a0he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am pleased and I pay tribute to all those who were involved in this negotiation, on all sides of it, that we have reached this pragmatic outcome.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo your question on border fluidity,\u00a0around 15,000 people cross that border every day, so that border fluidity is hugely important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think this is precisely what that agreement does guarantee going forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I should also say that this is an important agreement as well for the whole region.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s important for jobs, investment and prosperity for the whole region.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m sure I’ll be discussing this with Spanish counterparts\u00a0and\u00a0with other European counterparts going forward,\u00a0but this really is about that prosperity going forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I’m delighted and very pleased that that agreement’s been reached.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Thomas-Symonds was speaking two days after the European Commission\u00a0confirmed it had adopted its proposals \u201cfor the signature and provisional application, as well as for the conclusion\u201d of the UK\/EU agreement on Gibraltar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maros Sefcovic, the Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional\u00a0Relations\u00a0and Transparency, who has played a key role in the treaty negotiation, welcomed the announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal has been clear and strategic: to secure long-term prosperity for the region, while fully safeguarding Schengen, the EU Single Market and our Customs Union,\u201d he said\u00a0at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 15,000 people crossing daily between Gibraltar and Spain, this is about legal certainty, confidence for businesses and people as well as a cooperative future that reinforces our mutual relationship.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Separately, the European Council also confirmed it had formally\u00a0commenced\u00a0its examination of the\u00a0treaty text.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Council\u2019s Working Party on EU-UK Relations, made up of diplomats and civil servants from the 27 EU Member States, the European\u00a0Commission\u00a0and the General Secretariat of the Council, held its first round of discussions on the text last Friday, an EU official told the Chronicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Commission has recommended that the treaty be handled as an \u201cEU-only\u201d agreement, meaning it would need approval only by the Council, which brings together representatives from all member states, and the European Parliament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the treaty were handled as a \u201cmixed agreement\u201d,\u00a0it would also require approval by all national parliaments of the EU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the parties involved in the negotiation are confident that the Commission\u2019s recommendation for an \u201cEU-only\u201d agreement will be adopted, the position has yet to be confirmed by the Council.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a request by several member states for an opinion by the Council Legal Service on the matter,\u201d the EU official said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
April 10 is the deadline for EU-wide implementation of the Entry\/Exit System [EES], the EU\u2019s new automated border control system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The treaty includes provisions that will ensure Gibraltar residents are not subject to strict EES controls including biometric scans and restrictions on how long non-EU nationals can be within the Schengen zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without those provisions, the fear is the EES requirements could severely disrupt frontier fluidity and impact negatively on communities either side of the border.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The treaty allows for provisional application once signed, even pending full completion of the ratification process, and the hope is to have it in place by April 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WIDER CONTEXT\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr\u00a0Thomas-Symonds told\u00a0the\u00a0audience in Madrid that the UK\u00a0Government had been elected with a mandate to \u201creset\u201d relations with the European Union, arguing that the post-Brexit arrangements were \u201cnot working for anyone\u201d and had made trade with the UK\u2019s largest bilateral partner harder.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He said closer UK\/EU cooperation was needed to address shared challenges on security,\u00a0defence\u00a0and economic competitiveness, while\u00a0maintaining\u00a0the UK\u2019s decision not to return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr Thomas-Symonds\u00a0pointed to progress since a UK\/EU summit in May\u00a0last year, including a new security and defence partnership focused on support for Ukraine, resilience against hybrid threats, space security, irregular migration, drug\u00a0trafficking\u00a0and the protection of critical infrastructure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He cited Prime Minister\u00a0Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s\u00a0line from the Munich Security Conference\u00a0last weekend\u00a0that \u201cthere is no British security without Europe and no European security without Britain\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On people-to-people links, he said the UK would rejoin Erasmus Plus in 2027, describing opportunities for students and youth and sports staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On trade, he said negotiations were\u00a0continuing on\u00a0an agri-food and food and drink agreement intended to cut red tape and reduce costs, which would also\u00a0benefit\u00a0Spanish exporters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Noting the importance of Spanish food exports to the UK, he said: \u201cEvery time someone in the UK adds oranges to their Pimm’s cocktail or prepares cauliflower cheese for their Sunday roast, they are indebted to Spain.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr Thomas-Symonds\u00a0also highlighted work to link UK and EU emissions trading schemes to reduce decarbonisation costs and support key industries such as aviation, and increased cooperation on energy, including improving electricity trading to help lower consumer bills and develop renewables.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He cited investment links, including Iberdrola\u2019s investment in UK energy grids and BP\u2019s investment in hydrogen and biofuels infrastructure in Spain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In\u00a0answer to\u00a0questions, he said structured UK\/EU dialogues were in place and the\u00a0UK Government aimed to provide regulatory certainty for businesses, adding that Britain was \u201copen for business\u201d and that Spanish foreign investment in the UK was significant.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He argued for a \u201cmade across Europe\u201d approach to competitiveness to avoid harming integrated supply chains,\u00a0flagging\u00a0UK investment in Spain and Spanish firms importing UK iron and steel, and\u00a0adding\u00a0both sides were aligned on priorities including green technologies,\u00a0defence\u00a0and digital.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He also said the UK would pursue further progress on mutual recognition of professional qualifications through an annual summit process, and that the UK would deepen defence cooperation through participation in relevant programmes and projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK\/EU treaty on Gibraltar\u00a0is\u00a0a \u201cpragmatic outcome\u201d\u00a0that\u00a0will guarantee \u201chugely important\u201d border fluidity\u00a0for the\u00a0benefit\u00a0communities on either side of 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