Gibraltar conducts an exercise to analyze the impact of the complete disconnection between the United Kingdom and the European Union – Politics – Ceuta Al Día

The Gibraltar government ran a simulation on Wednesday to test its planning hypotheses in the absence of a treaty governing Gibraltar’s future relationship with the European Union. Nineteen Gibraltar government departments and agencies took part in the exercise, along with the Foreign Office for Commonwealth and Development and the UK Ministry of Defence.

During the six-hour exercise, the consequences of a breakdown in negotiations between the UK and the EU were simulated. Repercussions were simulated on the first day without treatment and also from the 30th onwards.

The exercise director, Civil Emergency Coordinator, Ivor Lopez, presented the training objectives, exercise program, and scenario for it. As soon as possible, a full debriefing will be conducted after the end of the exercise, with the aim of identifying the main issues.

In a brief introduction to the caucus, Principal Deputy Minister Joseph Garcia reminded them of the importance of action in the face of the possibility of a non-negotiated outcome. He also stressed that this hypothesis remains very real until the treaty is realized, adding that although the parties are already close, it has not yet been reached. Garcia explained that preparations for a non-negotiated outcome are progressing in parallel with efforts to reach a treaty, and that the meetings are being held in conjunction with the exercise.

García noted that “the government will mitigate the negative effects of not having a treaty in those areas where it is possible. But there will be other areas where it is impossible to do so and in those cases a scenario of no negotiated outcome will simply reflect what it means to be left outside the EU.”

“This will be a different world, in which our interactions with Spain and the EU will be more complex, bureaucratic and time-consuming than we have known to date. The government remains deeply committed to negotiating a treaty, but at the same time has done its duty to prepare for his absence.”