When the new approach to cross-border engagement in the shape of the Trilateral Forum was first mooted, the Chamber’s support was cautious as we were unsure of the outcome and it took some time before anything tangible was announced.
Such is the delicacy of international negotiations where the parties involved were familiar to one another even though the personal relationships were pretty non-existent. It is worth reiterating that the Chamber remains a supporter of the process.
The Chamber fully endorsed both the essence and the spirit of the outcomes of the process when the Cordoba Agreement was signed in September 2006. We knew that there would be hiccups along the way but commented at the time that for the process to have any durability, communication had to continue despite any stumbling blocks, provided the age-old issue of sovereignty was not dragged into the process.
In our review of the Trilateral Forum one year ago we commented that of the four issues dealt with in the Cordoba Agreement: pensions for Spanish workers, Gibraltar’s telephone dialling code, expanded use of the airport and a more freely flowing frontier, it was the last of these where progress had ground to a halt. Indeed after an initial lifting of any restrictions on traffic into and out of Gibraltar in the autumn of 2006, the usual tedium of queues of up to 2 hours resumed. The usual excuses were proffered but the queues remain an almost daily occurrence.
Last year the Chamber commented on Spain’s performance using the metaphor of a school report card that stated clearly that Spain “MUST TRY HARDER”. This was greeted at the time with dismay by some and with outrage by others. Twelve months on, after another summer where the public has had to endure 2-hour queues to get into Spain on a frequent basis, we urge Spanish authorities to redouble their efforts to address this issue. Many people in Gibraltar continue to view cross-frontier fluidity as a barometer of Spanish intentions. Whether this is the case is less important than the perception. It is what people experience on a daily basis that tends to shape their views, not necessarily what they are told.
The last tangible outcomes of the Trilateral Forum were two years ago. The momentum of the Forum was effectively suspended during the Gibraltar and Spanish elections in November last year and March this year respectively. Many issues of concern to all three parties of the Forum need discussion, understanding and resolution: financial services, environmental and maritime safety among others. The initiative needs to be regained.
The penultimate of the four Cordoba issues outlined above – expanded use of the airport – is now coming to the fore.  Construction of the new air terminal is about to begin but it is against a very different economic outlook that existed in the aftermath of Cordoba. In the last twelve months we have seen first hand the effects of increasingly harsh trading conditions in which the global airline industry has had to operate. Last year Gibraltar lost its own home-grown airline and Iberia has now terminated the failing route to and from Madrid.  Nevertheless, there are now three airlines operating scheduled services to and from the Rock, more than there were when Cordoba was signed, so there is clearly demand. And Monarch has recently re-instigated the Manchester route that it abandoned in 2006.
The new terminal and the related link road to the frontier both need to be built, even though there is no guarantee that new airlines will flock to the terminal on the day it opens. This is an investment in Gibraltar’s future, not just for next year, but for decades to come. The terminal is also a statement about confidence in Gibraltar’s future, both economically as well as politically. Without a new terminal, any expanded use of the airport is unfeasible as the capacity of the existing facility is severely constrained.
An application for EU funds to build the terminal which was made soon after Cordoba was signed has not secured any funds to date. And there is no certainty that funds will ever be forthcoming. If they are not then the government will have to fund the new terminal out of tax receipts or through its recently extended borrowing powers or a combination of the two.
In the June budget, the Government promised to make full public disclosures about each infrastructure project in the pipeline, including the proposed funding of each project. At a time of heightened economic uncertainty the Government should reassure the taxpayer that its vast programme of infrastructural projects remains affordable. If they are not, then the government is fully justified in postponing or prioritising the projects. The beautification of Europa Point which was due this year has, we hear on the grapevine, been delayed. The reopening of the Dudley Ward tunnel, which is badly needed now to alleviate traffic congestion, is apparently not due to open until 2011.
The business community as well as the taxpayer needs the certainty that the Government can live within its means. At a time when local businesses and individuals in the community are tightening their belts ahead of an expected downturn, it would be reassuring to know that prudence is being exercised in the public sector as well.