Adam Husicka
FABIAN Picardo has warned that the incoming new agreement with the EU will see prices changes in Gibraltar – ‘but there will always be a balance’.
Speaking to the Olive Press after giving a rousing speech to the sea of red and white that flooded Casemates Square yesterday, the Chief Minister assured that the deal is ‘a huge win for Gibraltar.’
“We will have access to a market of 480 million people to sell our wares,” he said during Gibraltar’s National Day.
“In some instances, Gibraltar will be cheaper than it is today, in some instances it will be slightly more expensive, but this is always going to be a balance.”
“I think that economies of scale will mean that our traders can sell more, and therefore they can buy more, and therefore they can get better prices.”
The Chief Minister was speaking as thousands attended the celebrations that marked the 58th anniversary of the 1967 sovereignty referendum – the first since the landmark agreement with the EU was announced.
The day was a bold display of Gibraltarian identity and the people’s choice to remain under British rule.
The prevailing mood among the crowds was one of reassurance, pride, and cautious optimism.
A number of speakers took the opportunity to address the opportunities and anxieties surrounding the treaty, which will see the Rock join the Schengen common travel area – but not the Schengen zone itself.
Picardo was equally emphatic when pressed on the implications for the Rock’s security once the border is removed.
“I understand that fear, but it’s entirely misconceived. We will be able to have even better control using electronic means of who’s coming into Gibraltar than we have today.”
He pointed out that even today people wander into Gibraltar across the fence, ‘which is easy to break through.’
“They do, every night and every day – we have to repair the fence after it’s been broken in the evenings.
“I’m very confident that working with the RGP, the Borders and Coast Guard Agency and Customs, will be able to ensure that Gibraltar remains just as secure as it is today, if not even more secure in the future.
He added: “I have a 7-year-old daughter, a 10-year-old boy, a 13-year-old boy, I’m never going to do anything that makes Gibraltar in the slightest bit insecure.”
This optimism was echoed by Amanda Martin, the Labour MP for Portsmouth North and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gibraltar.
She told the Olive Press after her speech that the agreement was a crucial step forward, ending the ‘stalemate since Brexit’ during which ‘nobody thought about Gibraltar’.
Martin highlighted that the positive effects are already being felt, noting she had met with the business community where ‘investment is happening already’.
She also stressed the human importance of the treaty, which promises to heal divisions for families split by the border and ease the daily lives of thousands who cross to work or access services like the hospital.
For many Gibraltarians, the fundamental question has always been one of sovereignty.
Charlie Bishop, a founding member of the Self-Determination for Gibraltar Group which organised the first unofficial National Day rally, provided a vital grassroots perspective.
He felt it was important to ‘make a stand this year because of the deal to show that we’re still Gibraltarian, that this is still our home, and it’s not up for negotiation’.
Yet, he firmly supports the new treaty.
“Personally, I think it’s a good thing because we haven’t ceded anything on sovereignty or anything like that”.
Bishop sees the deal as a ‘no-brainer’ for a populace that overwhelmingly voted to remain in the EU.
“We’re going to have a more normal and natural relationship with our neighbours, which is how we should be,” he remarked, comparing the future border to the open frontiers between Spain and France or Portugal.
The message from this year’s National Day was clear.
Gibraltar stands firm in its British identity, a choice celebrated with deep-rooted passion. But it is also looking forward, ready to embrace a new era of European cooperation, confident that its cherished sovereignty remains uncompromised.
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