John Culatto
THE Gibraltar cross-frontier group of business leaders and unions has tried to thrash out ‘technical solutions’ for an EU treaty with the British territory’s leaders.
In a meeting on Thursday, the group’s leaders got the latest updates of negotiations between the UK and the EU from Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.
During a discussion after the update, the cross-frontier group put across their view that ‘the priorities and concerns of the citizens of Gibraltar and of the Campo de Gibraltar should come first’ in the talks.
Picardo and Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcia, who was also at the meeting, have been lobbying UK political parties for their support recently.
“Work should continue to enhance the area of shared prosperity in the region which depends on a fluid border,” the meeting participants said in a Gibraltar Government statement.
Negotiations on the EU treaty have continued intensively in both Spain and London nearly two years after Gibraltar signed the New Year’s Eve framework agreement in December 2019.
If a treaty is not signed, Gibraltar’s frontier would become a hard EU border that would significantly hurt trade and the economic stability of the region.
The cross-frontier group was formed after the Brexit referendum of 2016 made up of union and business representatives from both sides of the border.
ALSO READ:
- UK Minister for Europe compares Gibraltar’s British wish to his Brexit grit during Rock visit
- Gibraltar in ‘constant’ meetings throughout summer to thrash out post-Brexit EU deal with Spain and UK
- Negotiators are ‘within touching distance of historic treaty’ over Gibraltar’s post-Brexit future, insists Chief Minister Fabian Picardo
