John Culatto
THE crucial frontier situation and other issues will be discussed in Gibraltar today, and in the Campo tomorrow with Spanish officials.
With the UK still in deadlock over EU talks, these technical meetings could still be fated to fail unless a local agreement is reached.
The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will be at the talks along with officials from Gibraltar, UK and Spain.
Gibraltar is seeking a Schengen-type arrangement at the frontier to allow the 15,000 workers access to the territory on a daily basis.
This could, however, fly in the face of British plans to cut off fully from the EU and is unlikely to be accepted.
Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya recently revealed how she was disappointed with the UK position.
“Despite all our efforts we need to be realistic that the results of the negotiations will be different to our interests,” said Gonzalez Laya.
“The UK has lowered its ambition and this is not good news for Spain who has always wanted a narrow relationship.”
The main disagreements so far have centred around fishing rights but she revealed Spain and the EU have a contingency plan if the talks fail.
She also said that talks over Gibraltar would continue ‘to guarantee the movement of people, goods and services for the shared wealth of both sides of the border’.
She also added she was the third Spanish minister to meet with a Chief Minister, responding to Vox criticism.
