The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, travelled to Brussels on Tuesday, where he is due to hold a series of meetings to advance the implementation of the Treaty on Gibraltar and the European package for Ceuta and Melilla. The Minister will also meet with the Commissioners for International Partnerships and for the Mediterranean to discuss the migration crisis on El Hierro, as the Canary Islands are also part of Europe's southern border.
As Albares explained to the press, the technical committees provided for in the Gibraltar Agreement have already begun to be established. These include the Customs Committee, which will manage the increase in the volume of goods passing through both the port of Algeciras and overland routes. The Environment Committee has also begun its work, and the remaining committees will meet in due course to address everyday problems.
Gibraltar: A successful agreement
The establishment of these technical committees is essential for the full implementation of this agreement on stability and shared prosperity, which improves the lives of 300,000 Andalusians in the Campo de Gibraltar. “That is the great success of this agreement,” the Minister said, “that all those situations which previously caused friction and even occasional clashes will be able to be addressed in the future, allowing Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar to move forward together.”
Albares also confirmed that the Government is holding talks with all political groups in the European Parliament ahead of the Treaty's final ratification, particularly with Spanish MEPs, to secure their support for this historic agreement, which brings an end to 300 years of conflict.
European package for Ceuta
Albares also announced that the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council next Monday, 16 November, includes the final approval of Ceuta's permanent seat on the Committee of the Regions. “This is something that should have been done a long time ago and has been one of this Government's main demands, which is finally becoming a reality,” he stated.
The Foreign Ministry will also continue to make progress on the remaining measures in the package to strengthen Ceuta's European dimension. These include the financial instrument for the European Union's southern land borders, those of Ceuta and Melilla, taking full account of their specific characteristics, as well as a permanent Frontex presence.
Migration crisis on El Hierro
Albares will also meet with the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, and the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, to discuss the current situation of mass migrant arrivals on the island of El Hierro and address it jointly, given that the Canary Islands are also part of the European Union's external border.
Spain advocates establishing strategic and comprehensive partnerships with its Southern Neighbourhood partners, with greater ambition in cooperation on issues as essential to both sides as preventing irregular migration and managing migration flows, security, economic development, and the energy and digital transitions.
“Over the past few days, I have spoken on several occasions with my counterparts in Senegal and The Gambia. Both are priority countries for Spanish Cooperation and countries where European Union cooperation also has a strong presence,” he explained.
The future of Europe
The Minister concluded his day by delivering a lecture entitled “The Future of Europe” at the College of Europe in Bruges, where he argued that the European Union is much more than a common market or a union of states.
“We are a community of values, born of a promise based on human dignity, peace and social cohesion, international law and multilateralism. These are our greatest treasures and also the best legacy we can leave to future generations. And the way to achieve this is through greater unity and a sovereign Europe,” he told a large group of students.
“You, the younger generations, have been fortunate enough to inherit the freest, most democratic and most prosperous Europe in our history. But you also have the responsibility to preserve and strengthen it,” he concluded.
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