Madrid, Dec. 14 (EFE).- The foreign ministers of Spain and Britain, José Manuel Albares and James Cleverly, had agreed on Wednesday to move “as soon as possible” to reach an agreement on the future relationship of the two countries in relation to Gibraltar.
In a joint press conference after holding the meeting, the two agreed to underscore the “good will” and determination to reach an agreement in the interests of the Gibraltarians and the Campo de Gibraltar region.
Albares recalled that Spain and the European Union had put forward “global proposals” involving the loss of the Gibraltar Gate, shared use of the airport, measures to support cross-border workers and equal distribution of pensions of Spaniards who had worked in Batu, among others.
“We have pledged to work with all our might to resolve as quickly as possible for mutual benefit”, assured the UK minister, who has acknowledged that certain “hurdles” still need to be overcome without which an agreement can already be concluded.
The ministers did not want to elaborate on whether they believed a deal could be signed before December 31, when the deadline for an adaptation mechanism expires, and had stressed they were working “intensively” to achieve it “as soon as possible”.
“No deadline has been set, but it is in everyone’s interest that it should be done as quickly as possible,” Albares said.
As such, he has specified that Spain is “ready to close the agreement tomorrow”, and deems it necessary “to move forward decisively, because it is evident that we cannot be in a negotiating situation indefinitely”.
For the UK, the situation is not so clear-cut because, as the British minister pointed out, “if the proposal had been acceptable, we would have accepted it, but we have to refine the proposal because there are some limitations and differences; Let’s maintain a smooth dialogue and we will see how to overcome this trap.”
One of the unresolved issues is border control at Gibraltar’s airport and port.
Thus, for Albares, “it is clear that if there is an expansion of the Schengen area, control must be exercised by the State Security Forces and Corps, with the initial “support” from Frontex, while for Cleverly this is one indicating that a “profile” is still needed before reaching an agreement. “liquid mobility that benefits all parties”.
“We are not talking about a simple matter, nor is it a trivial one; We have committed to working on and resolving these issues as quickly as possible”, assured Britain, whose political will to reach a deal is “proven”
Meanwhile, Albares has indicated that “he would never allow negotiations to proceed if he observed bad faith on the British side or no credible progress, but I verified otherwise.”
“Every time we meet there is always progress, and today we are getting closer to a resolution,” he concluded.
(c) EFE Agency
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