Walter Finch
THE latest round of talks on the status of Gibraltar failed to reach a breakthrough.
The high level meeting included European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, together with the Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo.
The teams met in Brussels today (Thursday 19 September) to try to square the impossible circle of Gibraltar’s inclusion in the Schengen zone.
While a breakthrough today was not essential, it was important to make enough progress to assuage fears that the talks might meet in failure before November.
The EU’s Entry Exit System is due to come into effect on November 10, significantly complicating life for the 15,000 who cross the frontier every day.
In a joint communique, the British government called the talks ‘constructive and productive, resulting in further progress on the complex issues of negotiations, namely in the area of people and goods.’
“The meeting reaffirmed their shared commitment to concluding an EU-UK Agreement to bring confidence, legal certainty, and stability to the people of the whole region, while safeguarding all parties’ legal positions,” the statement said.
