Sep 24 - Brexit Work To Intensify And Occupy More Of Government's Time
The Government says it has "already made it clear" that the negotiations between the Member State United Kingdom and the European Union are now in the final stages. This means that the pressure of work has now intensified considerably as the Government prepare for Gibraltar to leave the EU.
A spokesperson for the Government said: "In the United Kingdom there is an entire department made up of hundreds of people dealing with EU exit. In Gibraltar, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, the Attorney General and the Financial Secretary are directly involved in all or in specific aspects of this process.
"This means that individuals or organisations who need to meet with the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, the Attorney General or the Financial Secretary may have their meetings cancelled at short notice as the negotiations and arrangements for Brexit are finalised. The Government would like to apologise in advance for this situation."
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo said: "I am genuinely sorry that we may have to cancel meetings which people have been waiting for. It is, however, essential that we get the final stretch of the negotiations absolutely right. The generational importance of this intense political activity means that we have to prioritise these discussions and negotiations above everything else. We have to get this right.
"I have said that we are reaching "peak Brexit" over these next few weeks. That's why I want to apologise to the people who might otherwise wish to see me or the other members of the Government's Brexit team. I assure everyone that if it were possible, I would be seeing people as usual. Unfortunately, it is not. I certainly hope we will be able to get back to 'business as usual' very soon after the conclusion of the negotiations. At the moment, that looks like it will be mid- November, although everything is very fluid on the wider Brexit agenda, as everyone will know from following the international news."
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