Dr Garcia addresses British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Cardiff

DEPUTY Chief Minister of Gibraltar Dr Joseph Garcia said that instead of a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit what was required was a “sensible, well managed and orderly Brexit” which was in the best interests not only of Gibraltar and Spain but also of the United Kingdom and the European Union as a whole as he delivered the keynote address to the official dinner of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Cardiff Castle.

He told the Parliamentarians present that although 96 per cent of Gibraltar had voted to remain in the European Union, the overall result was to leave. “We are where we are and we have to deal with it,” he declared.

Dr Garcia explained that many people have come to regard the application of EU law at the border as providing a degree of protection against the excesses of a difficult neighbour and went over the importance to both sides of fluid land access between Gibraltar and Spain.

The address, which was very well received, echoed the concerns that had been raised during the day about the future movement of persons between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.

Dr Garcia drew a parallel between the two situations on the basis that there were 14,800 people who crossed daily from south to north in order to work. “Similarly there are over 12,000 persons, most of whom are Spanish, who cross the border into Gibraltar every morning and then leave after work in the evening,” he explained.

The economies of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Republic were intertwined in the same way as the economies of the Campo and Andalucia were linked to that of Gibraltar. This access to and from Gibraltar is particularly important for frontier workers and for the tourists who create the jobs that the frontier workers then occupy.