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Mar 20 - GSD Urges Government To Provide Greater Clarity On Brexit

The GSD has today called on the Government to provide greater clarity regarding its objectives during the Brexit negotiations.

At a press conference this morning, party leader Keith Azopardi presented a detailed policy document setting out the GSD’s concerns.

Mr Azopardi said: “Everyone is setting out their stall. But there is a lack of clarity from the Gibraltar Government. Though the Government initially spoke about their objectives it has become much quieter in recent times. People are entitled to ask where the Gibraltar Government is going and what it is prepared to negotiate and for what.”

The party is also concerned that the draft EU Withdrawal Agreement, which was published yesterday, “does not protect Gibraltar’s interests or objectives sufficiently.”

In contrast to what Mr Azopardi described as the Government’s “rosy” view of the scope of the agreement, he said that the extension of the agreement to the Rock was “still in doubt” and that the Government should indicate what changes it wants made to the Agreement before October.

There was also criticism of the UK with the GSD saying that Theresa May’s government does not seem to have Gibraltar’s interests “foremost in its mind.”

Mr Azopardi explained that the GSD’s vision was to secure a “trilateral process of discussion” for matters that relate to Gibraltar. The party’s vision also includes freedom of movement at the border and single market access following Brexit.

Mr Azopardi stressed that the Government needs to provide more clarity going forward: “…the electorate should be told what exactly the Government’s current objectives are. It cannot be the case that both Government and Opposition in the UK, Spain and the EU set out their specific positions but the Gibraltar Government is unclear about its specific aspirations. Yesterday on BBC Radio 4 the Chief Minister said that the Government believed in enhanced use of the airport as long as there were no concessions on sovereignty, jurisdiction or control. Is that what is being negotiated? What else is being negotiated in the spirit of cooperation that the Chief Minister was expressing? And what is the trade-off that Gibraltar is seeking in those negotiations?”

He added: “At the end of it the Government will be judged on results and not on how many meetings it has had behind the scenes.”

Mr Azopardi also lamented the lack of regular briefings: “The GSD offered the Government its assistance in any process of negotiation with the UK or EU. The Government has not taken up this offer and instead just provided the GSD with selective and infrequent general briefings.”


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