Walter Finch
GIBRALTAR Chief Minister Fabian Picardo struck an uncompromising tone in his National Day message ahead of showdown talks with Spain.
The Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares has announced that he will travel to London in the coming weeks for talks with his British counterpart David Lammy in order to secure a deal that would incorporate Gibraltar into the Schengen zone.
The hugely complex talks have been progressing well over the course of 2024 – until they run up against both sides’ ‘red lines’.
And Picardo told his fellow Gibraltarians that ‘the time may soon come when we all have to buckle in for a different kind of ride.’
READ MORE: Gibraltar’s Fabian Picardo meets with new Labour government in the UK
He warned them that while the border ‘clearly is not going to close’, they can expect to ‘face border queues while they scan our irises and take our fingerprints.’
The European Union’s new Entry-Exit System is set to come into effect on November 10, putting an end to the relaxed ‘wave through’ regime that has been in effect at the Gibraltar border.
“But we need to stand up for what previous generations have defended and we must not surrender our birthright.
He added that ‘gunboats and queues will never change our position,’ in reference to Spain sending El Rayo, a 2,860-tonne warship through British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on August 5.
“The question of sovereignty is paramount, the symbols, ingredients and attributes of sovereignty matter too. This is a line that your Government is not prepared to cross come what may.”
Although the Chief Minister did not mention it directly, the ‘line’ is thought to be Spain’s demand that armed Spanish officers be free to move around both the airport and the Port of Gibraltar as entry points to the Schengen zone.
In an interview with El Pais, Albares said that he was open to ‘constructive solutions’ that would ‘guarantee the security of controls and the free movement of people and goods’ between Spain and Gibraltar.
However, when pressed on whether Spanish police officers could serve on duty on the Rock without uniforms or weapons ‘as Picardo requests’, Albares only replied: “If Gibraltar wants freedom of movement, it can have it; the only thing is that it must act as it does at all entry and exit points of the Schengen area.”
“Spain is not giving up its claim to sovereignty, but it is also a red line for me to improve the lives of the 300,000 residents of Campo de Gibraltar.”
He added: “The negotiations are at an irreversible point in which either we finalise the agreement or the British side indicates that it does not want it.”
Gibraltar will celebrate its National Day on Tuesday September 10, usually a raucous day of speeches and live events where the territory reaffirms its sovereignty and commitment to being British.
