James Tipping, director of Gibraltar Finance, a government body promoting the British overseas territory’s commercial interests, told International Adviser that although Gibraltar “aspires” to maintain access to the single market once Britain exits the EU, it is resigned to losing its EU passporting rights.
“We are currently planning for a hard Brexit,” Tipping said at a Brussels hearing on Tuesday, adding that the Rock is “realistic about the worst case scenario” and that he did not expect Gibraltar to obtain a “special status”.
The comments will put a dent in Gibraltar’s attempts to shore up its status as a financial centre.
‘Well prepared’
Despite being one of the world’s smallest jurisdictions, with a population of just 30,000, it is also one of the wealthiest, with its gross domestic product reaching £1.64bn ($2bn, €1.9bn) in 2015.
It is home to around 15,000 companies and a major provider of insurance and gambling services.
Earlier this year, Gibraltar published a report revealing that nearly half of all jobs on the British overseas territory would be lost if a hard Brexit deal is struck.
However, Tipping said that post-Brexit Gibraltar may be an attractive jurisdiction for European firms looking to directly passport into the UK.
He added that that the enclave’s financial services sector is “very significantly UK facing” and well prepared to deal with “every eventuality” of the Brexit process.
Spain and Gibraltar
Gibraltar continues to be a bone of contention between the UK and Spain in the Brexit negotiations.
Last week, a leaked report from the Spanish government revealed it was looking to target what it considers to be Gibraltar’s “unjustifiable privileges” as a tax haven during talks with the UK.
Meanwhile, former Conservative leader Michael Howard told British media last month that the UK would go to war with Spain to defend Gibraltar after the EU approved Brexit guidelines suggesting that Spain could be given the final say over the future of the Rock.
