The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has pointed out that Spain is experiencing a "historic" day after the agreement reached on Gibraltar and the disappearance of the fence, which he described as "the last piece of the puzzle" to culminate Brexit.
In an interview on "24 Horas" on RNE, reported by Europa Press, Albares highlighted that the understanding between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar, signed this Tuesday in Brussels, materializes "a dream of generations of Andalusians in the Campo de Gibraltar". At the same time, he defended that "a new era" is opening in the ties between the United Kingdom and Spain: "This was the last bit, the last piece of the Brexit puzzle".
His statements came a few minutes after the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, and the mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, Juan Franco, staged at midnight this Wednesday the definitive lifting of the fence that has separated the Rock for a century.
Albares, when asked about this symbolic act, stressed that "it is a doubly historic day for Spain: we reach the World Cup final 16 years later and we turn history around, from living back-to-back with Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar," thus linking the agreement with Spain's victory over France in the football match.
Cooperation versus confrontation
Under the heading "COOPERATION IS THE BEST WAY TO LIVE TOGETHER", the minister explained that the negotiation had been prolonged because "there were many historical inertias, many prejudices, because unfortunately those who believed that confrontation is more powerful than cooperation were the ones who had the leading voice".
Faced with that stage, he remarked that Brexit has made it possible to "understand very clearly" that "living together, cooperation, is the best way to live together, to prosper, to move forward".
Albares also focused on the fact that the dismantling of the fence implies the free movement of people and goods, as well as protection for "the work of those 15,000 cross-border Andalusians".
Furthermore, he indicated that the "new dynamics", including the option of "transiting without waiting", "guaranteed social benefits" and air "connectivity", will serve to attract "investments" to the Campo de Gibraltar area.