Gibraltar is a real-world, worked out example of what reconnecting with the European Union looks like, the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia CMG MP has told a meeting of UK Liberal Democrats during their party conference in Brighton. This comes in the wider context of the debate in the United Kingdom about moving closer to the EU following the consequences of Brexit.

The Liberal Democrat party conference is the second one of the main party gatherings on the political calendar. This year there will be different forms of representation from Gibraltar at seven of them during the course of the conference season. Also in Brighton for this engagement are the Minister for Health, Care and Business Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP, and the Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry Nigel Feetham MP.

Dr Garcia was speaking as part of a panel discussion entitled “Reconnecting with Europe”, which was chaired by the Lib Dem leader in the House of Lords and Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lord Jeremy Purvis. The panel also included the party’s Defence spokesperson James MacCleary MP, formerly Europe, and Helen Maguire MP who led on Defence in 2024-2025.

The Deputy Chief Minister explained that reconnecting with Europe was not a theoretical proposition in the case of Gibraltar because this had already happened through the UK-EU treaty signed on 14 July. He explained how this connectivity had materialised in areas like the border, immigration, trade and the airport. The main priority for Gibraltar throughout the lengthy negotiating process had been the fluid movement of persons and goods across its land border with Spain. This objective, he told the audience, had been achieved.

Dr Garcia made the point that British sovereignty was perfectly compatible with EU cooperation. It was possible to have both and Gibraltar was a case in point.

The meeting was followed by the traditional Gibraltar Government reception. The Deputy Chief Minister reminded those present that he had been attending the Liberal Democrats conference for some 25 years. He said that Brexit was not Gibraltar’s choice but that it became our problem, and the Government had to deal with the consequences.

The new treaty provided the practical connectivity with the EU which Gibraltar needed, he said. Dr Garcia explained that Gibraltar enjoyed greater border fluidity outside the EU than we enjoyed when members of it, and he pointed to the airport as an area of cooperation rather than confrontation.

There are few places more proudly British than Gibraltar, he said, adding that there was no conflict between being British and being European. “You can be Gibraltarian, British and European at the same time”. The treaty, he told those present, does not change who we are and does not impact our sovereignty.

“Cooperation with Europe is not a threat to our British identity. It allows us to protect our interests while remaining true to who we are,” he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister thanked the Liberal Democrats for standing by Gibraltar and its people. In reply for the guests, Lord Jeremy Purvis reaffirmed the party’s commitment to Gibraltar and to the right to self-determination of its people.