Nov 15 - Hassan Nahon: Gibraltar’s Sovereignty Protected By Draft Withdrawal Agreement
Marlene Hassan Nahon has said that, when analysing the Brexit Draft Withdrawal Agreement Paper and what that means for Gibraltar, it is important to note that Gibraltar’s “sovereignty and Constitutional position is protected, and that some sort of arrangement with Spain is being entered into.”
Ms Hassan Nahon said: “However, the fact of the matter is that this document is just one of many papers being worked on and it is therefore vital to wait until the other documents, namely the Memoranda of Understanding between Gibraltar and Spain, are out in the open before offering an informed view on the matter of withdrawal arrangements and what they mean for Gibraltar. How the points relating to Gibraltar in the Draft Withdrawal Agreement are set to be delivered will all be dependent on the added papers, which will be disclosed, in the coming weeks.
“At this point, it has to be noted that in any case any deal entered into is only valid until 2020. This reality needs to be taken into serious account so that moving forward, any deal entered into will have the potential to enjoy longevity beyond these 18-24 months, including the consideration of long-term impacts on sectors and industries and how to counter them.
“Furthermore, the fact of the matter is that the UK Prime Minister still has to put the Draft Withdrawal Agreement through Parliament and as things stand, there is a lot of uncertainty within Mrs. May’s Cabinet leaving Gibraltar by consequence, at the mercy of the goings on in Westminster with the very real possibility of us having to completely go back to the drawing board if the deal doesn’t go through.
“I therefore believe that the most reasonable position for us to take at this juncture is to wait until the Memoranda of Understanding paper is out in the open in order to present an informed view of what the proposals mean for us at this crucial moment in our history.”
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