Sources in Spain’s Foreign Ministry say they trust Liz Truss to provide a post-Brexit deal that will benefit expats living in both countries
The sources stressed that Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss was “flexible in the good sense of the word” and hoped that reaching an agreement on Brexit and Gibraltar would be “less flashy and vehement” than with her predecessor Boris Johnson.
However, they recalled that Truss, who had taken over the leadership of the country just a few weeks ago, “embodies the spirit of Brexit”, so no major changes in the London discourse are to be expected.
Still, sources warned that an agreement must be found as soon as possible as the current measures are “temporary and conditional” and “may not provide a stable framework” for a lasting relationship.
So far, however, they have ruled out setting a definitive timeframe for such an agreement.
In addition to mobility, the Spanish government sees security, defense and trade policy as the three pillars of future bilateral relations.
New Spanish consulate in London
“Between now and the summer we hope that everything is finalized and that we can announce the location before then,” they explained, adding that there is a €60 million digitization plan in place thanks to EU recovery funds that will do so will serve to modernize Spain’s consular services.
And the sources explained that Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has arranged to meet his new counterpart, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, for their first bilateral meeting as part of the forthcoming Spanish-British talks.
Image: Liz Truss / Twitter
