October 2022 Brexit seems to be a problem of the past, already solved, across Europe. in all? Not. A region in southern Spain is still looking at its future with uncertainty due to Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020, which dragged the Gibraltarians against their will. That region is Gibraltar Lapangan Square, who is still waiting to find out what neighbor Rock’s relationship with the EU will look like, as it will be. For better or for worse.

It seems that the mystery will not be revealed soon, almost three years later. And the doubts are not small. It is not known, for example, how long the negotiations will last. Also, in what spirit is the new Government Liz Truss. Or how a big difference of opinion will affect Irish Protocolthat threatens to blow up the entire Brexit deal.

One of the fears is that the EU’s patience will run out. It Spanish government He is willing to continue sitting at the table in front of the British delegation “as long as necessary” given his “huge importance” in reaching a deal, according to sources close to the negotiations. But other European countries may come a time when they decide to end it. It is not known. When Brexit happens, Spain reassures members Schengen area allowed to ignore his rules at the Gate as a temporary measure while trying to close the agreement. So as not to hinder and not to aggravate transit through border crossings. The key is that this is an initiative that can be turned down at any time like other initiatives that Moncloa has taken and which dies out over time. In reality, it does not depend on Spain, but rather on all European countries. Let them decide it’s all over.

The fear is that Truss has radicalized his speech to win over the ‘story’ hard wing

Last Saturday marked one year since the European Union’s ambassadors agreed to a mandate to negotiate a pending international agreement by the European Commission and Britain on relations with the United Kingdom. Gibraltar behind Brexit. Since then, eight rounds of negotiations have been held in which there has been agreement on a large number of points, but the few that remain are the most basic and controversial. Three weeks ago they would have been treated after summer vacation, but death Queen Isabel II The UK caused a new delay. It is currently unknown when the ninth meeting will take place.

The spirit that the British delegation will maintain from now on is also unknown, as the new chapter will be the first following the change in the UK Government with the resignation of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, over the summer. His successor, Liz Truss, the Secretary of State who negotiated with Gibrexit, is a liberal politician who grew up in a leftist anti-monarchist family, who was frontally opposed to leaving. European Union until, when the opportunity presented itself a few weeks ago, he had to amplify his rhetoric to curry favor with the hard-line Conservative Party and convince them to back him as a newcomer. Thatcher. It is now a mystery that Lizz Truss EC negotiators will discover when they sit down to discuss Gibraltar again.

Exceptions in the Schengen app Borders continue, but it is not known how long

It was in December 2021 when the new prime minister took over the negotiations Gibrexit. He had been Secretary of International Trade until the UK government reshuffle in September. Then, already Foreign Minister, he told El País: “Our goal is to reach an agreement by the end of the first quarter of next year. Talks are going well. Britain and Spain want a solution so people can get on with their business. So we can all continued. We’ve been very clear about protecting Gibraltar’s sovereignty. I’m not going to negotiation details. It is best that talks continue and we continue to work closely with our Spanish, Gibraltarian and EU counterparts to achieve this.”

On September 6, he replaced Boris Johnson. I replace it james cleverly as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Picardo later said: “I am delighted that James Cleverly has been appointed Secretary of State. I have known James for several years and have worked very well with him during his time as Minister of Europe. He is a good friend of Gibraltar and is well aware of the current issues going on in our negotiations. We couldn’t have hoped for a better appointment and I look forward to meeting with the new Foreign Minister soon to start working on this, hopefully, final stage of the meeting. successful negotiation Agreement between the UK and the European Union to govern our relations with Europe”.

Besides, negotiation Gibrexit it may have been influenced by the big, hard obstacle that has been looming over London and Brussels for some time now: the Northern Ireland Protocol. This treaty was made to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after separation and thus avoid the re-emergence of armed conflict, but the British Government attempted to end some parts of it, deeming it dangerous, which had unleashed a major controversy with the EU (and internally in the UK) threatening to blow up the whole Brexit.

It seems unlikely that the UK violated the Protocols and Twenty-seven doubting their words, did not affect the deal in Gibraltar. The EC assured this Friday that the negotiating team would meet “soon” to try to find a solution to the protocol. The announcement was made by the Vice President of the Interagency Relations Commission and community negotiator, Maros Sefkovicafter having had a “good conversation” with the new British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly.

“Both sides agreed to find a solution around the protocol, to bring predictability you certainty for residents in Northern Ireland. The European Union is committed to joint efforts. The (negotiation) team will meet soon,” Sefcovic wrote on his Twitter profile. Twitter. The Slovak politician added that he and Cleverly “will keep in touch.” This conversation is Sefcovic’s first Brexit conversation with the government of British Prime Minister Liz Truss.

In recent months, negotiations to reach an agreement on the Irish protocol have stalled and London has been pushing legislation that would allow the UK to unilaterally violate part of the withdrawal agreement signed with Brussels.

“We are in a time uncertainty where any scenario fits, but I think we have to be quite positive because the lack of news about the negotiations should not be construed as a lack of progress”, he explained. Jesus Verdu, professor of Public International Law and International Relations at the University of Cádiz (UCA), who understands that “when news of negotiations this deep is filtered when there is significant disagreement”, something has not yet happened. And yes, it must be taken into account that the negotiated agreement has an “innovative design” that has no “precedent” and is therefore “very complex”.

In fact, despite many obstacles, the Spanish Government still “optimistic” and believes that a “deal in Gibraltar is possible” under the New Year’s Eve Agreement on which the political foundations of the new relationship are laid, according to sources close to the negotiations. While ninth round between the EU and the UK, Madrid and London are continuing their parallel bilateral talks to agree on issues over which the EU lacks competence and which would complement the main agreement.

In his address ten days ago to the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, bearing in mind that on 31 December 2020, Spain and the United Kingdom reached a bilateral agreement on Gibraltar in the context of the country’s exit from the European Union and in which both governments have been working “intensively” so that such understanding will lay the groundwork for future relations between the UK and the territory European Union. “This agreement must be respect UN doctrine in the region in which Spain is fully aligned”, stressed Sánchez, insisting that Spain wants to work “for the development of a prosperous social and economic region that encompasses the entire space and the Campo de Gibraltar”.