EU announces start of negotiations with England regarding Gibraltar
October 6, 2021, 3:46 am

EU announces start of negotiations with England regarding Gibraltar

European parliament-plenary hall/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported, the Council of the European Union (EU) on Tuesday authorized the start of negotiations for an agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom (UK) regarding Gibraltar.

The Council green-lighted the opening of talks as well as the negotiating directives. On this basis, the European Commission can now begin formal negotiations with the UK.

The Council said in a statement that the aim of the negotiations is to establish "a broad and balanced agreement" in respect of Gibraltar's particular geographical situation and specificities.

The Xinhua noted, the Gibraltar was not included in the scope of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement agreed between the EU and the UK at the end of 2020.

According to the Xinhua, Spain and the UK reached an understanding of a possible framework for an agreement on Gibraltar on Dec. 31 2020. In this document, just hours before the UK left the EU, Madrid and London agreed to keep Gibraltar's land border open.

The Xinhua mentioned, the aim of keeping Gibraltar in the EU's passport-free Schengen area was to avoid a hard border that would have affected almost 15,000 Spanish workers who cross daily from Spain, making up for half of the region's workforce.

Around 96 percent of voters in Gibraltar voted for the UK to stay in the EU in a 2016 referendum.

Source: xinhua

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
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