British Foreign Secretary Affirms Conservative Government’s Support for Gibraltar in EU Negotiations

The British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverlyaffirms that Gibraltar will maintain the support of the conservative Government of Rishi Sunak in negotiations with the European Comission (CE) whatever the result of the general elections that will be held in the Rock on October 12 and the sign of the party that ends up governing in Spain.

Cleverly gave a speech at the traditional Gibraltar reception of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester in which the Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph García served as host.

The United Kingdom will only sign one treaty to regulate relations post-Brexit of Gibraltar with the European Union (EU) if it respects the “decisions and choices” of the Gibraltar people and their desire to remain British, insisted the head of British diplomacy, who renewed his commitment that Gibraltar “will always have the support of a conservative government when you choose your own destiny.”

Cleverly, who recently visited Gibraltar for National Day on a private trip with his family, He said he found Gibraltarians “vibrant”. Regarding the treaty, he explained that it would benefit the “social and economic interests” of the communities on both sides of the Defend and that the negotiation had “advanced”, but recalled that it is suspended due to political uncertainty in Spain after the general elections in July and the upcoming vote on October 12 in Gibraltar.

“It is not for me, as UK Foreign Secretary, to comment on or predict the outcome of the elections. Spanish government negotiationsjust as it is not my job to discuss or predict the next Gibraltar election,” he said. “But I would let you know, and I would let the good people of Gibraltar know, that whatever combination we have on either side of the border, we will always act taking into account the interests of Gibraltarians,” he stressed. “Yes, of course, we want to reach an agreement,” but “we will only sign an agreement that works and works for the Gibraltarian people, who respect their decisions, respect their choices, respect their desire to remain part of the British family.

“Those negotiations have taken longer than any of us would like. You can give things away very easily, but this is not what I set out to do in this work. I entered this job to do the right things, sometimes the hardest things, because it’s important that we do that,” he said.

Cleverly remembered the referendum carried out at the time when sovereignty was raised joint and said that he could not think of a “clearer or more unequivocal answer” than the message sent by the Gibraltarians that day. “We will defend that decision because we believe in the self-determination and we always will,” he concluded.

The acting deputy chief minister thanked the Conservatives for their “solidarity and support” and told guests that the two sides are “very close to an agreement,” so Gibraltar hoped to resume talks shortly. “Our aim remains to secure an agreement between the UK and the EU on Gibraltar that does not give up one iota of our british sovereignty“, he said, although he added that his “somber task” had been to prepare for the “worst case scenario”, the lack of agreement, if Spain “becomes difficult” and puts pressure on its sovereignty aspirations.

2023-10-02 12:47:16
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