Politics

Gibraltar’s chief minister heads to London with ‘GibExit’ message

Gibraltar’s chief minister is headed to London for Brexit-related meetings after Spain issued an ultimatum to Britain over border issues.

Fabian Picardo and his deputy will meet with government officials today as pressure over making the Rock a shared prosperity zone heats up.

Ahead of his flight on Wednesday night, Picardo tweeted “Get GibExit Done”.

Adding: “Once more unto the breach, my friends…”, from Shakespeare’s Henry V.

A recent proposal for a shared prosperity zone in Gibraltar has been put to the British government.

Under such a legal framework, according to the Commission and Spain, Spain must take control of the external borders in Gibraltar and exercise certain functions for the security of the Schengen area.

At the same time, there is a need to guarantee the free movement of goods between the EU and Gibraltar without increasing the risks to the EU internal market.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said: “We put a global agreement on the table to build a shared prosperity zone between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar – in Spain.

“For there to be an agreement, not only is there the Spanish proposal but there has to be the acceptance of the United Kingdom, so the ball is in the UK’s court.”

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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