The Gibraltar government conducted a simulation on Wednesday to test its planning hypothesis in the absence of an agreement governing Gibraltar’s future relationship with the European Union. Nineteen departments and agencies of the Government of Gibraltar participated in the exercise, together with the Commonwealth and Overseas Development Office and the UK Ministry of Defence.

During the six-hour exercise, the consequences of a failed negotiation between the UK and the EU were simulated. The effects are simulated on the first day without treatment and also from the thirtieth day onwards.

Training Director, Civil Contingency Coordinator, Ivor López, presented the training objectives, exercise program and scenarios. As soon as possible, a full debriefing will be held after the exercise ends, with the aim of capturing the main issues.

The Undersecretary of State, Joseph Garcia, in a brief introduction to the meeting, reminded them of the importance of working in the face of possible non-negotiable outcomes. He also emphasized that this hypothesis remains very real until an agreement is materialized, adding that although the parties are close, it has not yet been reached. Garcia explained that preparations for a non-negotiable outcome go hand-in-hand with working towards an agreement and meetings are being held alongside the drills.

García points out that “Governments will mitigate the negative effects of no agreement in those areas where this is possible. But there will be others where it is not possible to do so and in a non-negotiated scenario the outcome will only reflect what leaving the EU means.” .

“This will be a different world, where our interactions with Spain and the EU will be more complex, bureaucratic and time consuming than we have known to date. The government remains firmly committed to negotiating the agreement, but at the same time has an obligation to prepare for its absence.”