Gibraltar Olive Press - Issue 112

We use recycled paper

OLIVE PRESS

The

Reuse Reduce Recycle

GIBRALTAR

FREE

New beds to help people with Page 4 dementia

New pledge from Gibraltar’s Extinction Rebellion Page 4

We chat with Gib playwright Julian Page 8 Felice

The Rock’s only free local paper

HIT THE SLOPES: See our free Sierra Nevada supplement inside

Vol. 5, Issue 112 www.theolivepress.es December 18th - January 7th 2020

We will walk

FABIAN Picardo has insisted Gibraltar can ‘walk away from any bad deal’ signed with Europe. The Chief Minister added that the enclave was ‘ready’ to swerve any agreement that was bad for the territory, which voted by 96% to stay in the EU. It comes after Johnson’s landslide victory at the UK elections that left the Tories with a sufficient majority to leave the European Union on January 31. However, Picardo revealed that Gibraltar has the option of not signing the Future Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU. He told Parliament definitively that the FTA ‘may not include anything of interest to us’ on the benefit side, while ‘many obligations’ on the negative side. This would be the case even if the FTA included the possibility of financial services privileges for Gibraltar companies to passport into the EU. “We will need to be involved from the beginning but ready to walk away in the end if the balance of rights and obligations is bad for Gibraltar businesses,” said Picardo. “We must hold our nerve and be ready to walk away from a bad deal

EXCLUSIVE By John Culatto

for Gibraltar. “No deal with the EU may be better than a bad deal.” Picardo referred to those who are ‘foolishly wringing their hands with glee at talk of vetoes’.

Historic

It comes after Marco Aguiriano, Spanish Secretary of state for the EU, said that ‘it is very clear’ that Spain would have the final word on Gibraltar in the FTA. Aguiriano said that despite trying to ‘consolidate the prosperity with the Gibraltar Campo,’ he would not be holding back ‘on the historic reinforcement on the claim to Gibraltar’. Picardo continued: “I think we all know that EU member states generally have a veto over the international agreements that the EU enters into with third countries.” He added that they would have to be careful not to be provoked over the following months. “We will always want to have strong relations with the EU, our closest neighbour. “But everyone beyond Gibraltar

STRENGTH: Gibraltar is looking elsewhere in face of Brexit needs to understand that we are never going to compromise on matters of sovereignty,” he added. “We are never going to sell our birth-

Far east movement What’s going on in Gib this Xmas? Page 17

GIBRALTAR is pushing for new financial services work with the second largest economy in the world. As the territory decides to leave the European Union on January 31 a recent visit to China is being seen as a stepping stone to greater things. “This is a very big development because China makes up about a fifth of the world’s population,” Paul As-

UK

tengo, Senior Executive of the Ministry of Financial Services told the Olive Press. Both Astengo and Minister for Financial Services Albert Isola took the stage at the Free Trade Port International Cooperation Forum on Digital Economy and Blockchain “The forum was held following on from the announcement by the Chinese government that it was going to adopt blockchain at creating their own which is a very big development,” Astengo revealed. BASED With Joe Bossano working on other aspects of Chinese trade,

TRAVEL INSURANCE for Spanish residents www.globelink.co.uk

952 147 834

Like Scotland, Gibraltar might avoid ‘trap’ of joining an EU trade deal

96 626 5000 +44 (0) 1353 699082

Mike Ashton is providing information on insurance services. “It has proved attractive to Chinese companies to see what we’re doing in terms of our licensing regime,” said Astengo. “It’s a recognition of the work we’ve

Tel: 952 147 834

See page 19

TM

right for a commercial advantage.” He said that the Gibraltar community had to “consider carefully what part of any future UK – EU Free Trade Agreement’ they want for Gibraltar. He added that Johnson had confirmed his ‘continued and entirely fulsome support for Gibraltar’ in a phone call since his victory. “Although it was not our choice, and we continue to see the challenges it presents, we will leave the EU with the United Kingdom,” said Picardo. Despite the blow to the territory’s interests, thanks to the work of the Gibraltar Government, the Withdrawal Agreement will now apply to Gibraltar when it leaves the EU on January 31. “This means that we will enjoy the benefit of the transitional arrangements applying to Gibraltar also,” he told Parliament. At one point, there were reports that this would not be the case because of Spanish pressure. been doing that they invited us to a closed-shop event limited to 500 people.” He said Brexit would lead to more links being established with other countries and China was one of the priorities. “There are now more Chinese people living in Gibraltar than there ever were in the past, a lot related to the types of businesses we’re developing,” he concluded. “These are the small seeds that we hope will grow into something more substantial.”