Draft Law Published to Implement UK-EU Treaty

Gibraltar Government Press Releases

Published March 25th, 2026

Detected March 27th, 2026

Summary

The Government of Gibraltar has published a draft law, the TREATY ON GIBRALTAR AND THE EUROPEAN UNION BILL 2026, to implement the UK-EU Treaty within Gibraltar's jurisdiction. The bill is extensive and grants the government powers to create subsidiary legislation to meet treaty obligations, aiming for provisional application by April 10, 2026.

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What changed

The Government of Gibraltar has published the draft TREATY ON GIBRALTAR AND THE EUROPEAN UNION BILL 2026, which will serve as the domestic legal framework for implementing the UK-EU Treaty concerning Gibraltar. This bill, over 110 pages long with 148 sections, mirrors previous legislation like the European Communities Act and the UK's European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020, granting the government broad powers to enact regulations and amend existing laws to fulfill treaty obligations.

The bill has been certified as urgent and is intended for parliamentary debate to ensure readiness for the Treaty's potential provisional application on April 10, 2026. This legislation is described as seminal, forming the cornerstone for future treaty-related rules and regulations, and is expected to create significant opportunities for Gibraltar. Compliance officers should note the urgency and the potential for substantial changes to the legal and economic landscape affecting Gibraltar residents and businesses.

What to do next

Review the draft TREATY ON GIBRALTAR AND THE EUROPEAN UNION BILL 2026 for specific obligations and impacts.
Prepare for potential regulatory changes and new legal frameworks stemming from the UK-EU Treaty implementation.
Monitor parliamentary proceedings for the bill's passage and final enactment.

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+ Reset ## Government Publishes Draft Law to Implement Treaty - 209/2026

March 25, 2026

The Government last night published the TREATY ON GIBRALTAR AND THE EUROPEAN UNION BILL 2026 by Extraordinary Gazette.

The Bill will become the relevant Gibraltar law for the implementation in Gibraltar and its territorial ambit and jurisdiction of the UK-EU Treaty in respect of Gibraltar.
The model of the Bill is in keeping with the old European Communities Act that applied whilst we were members of the EU and the new UK Act to implement the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020.

The Bill is over 110 pages long and gives the Government the legal right to make Regulations and other subsidiary legislation to give effect to the relevant obligations under the Treaty. This includes a power to amend Acts of Parliament through Regulations, which is a power that was contained in the earlier European Communities Act and the UK Act to implement the TCA.

The Act contains 148 sections over 10 parts and 2 Schedules.

The Explanatory Memorandum of the Bill sets out that the intention is to implement the Agreement in respect of Gibraltar between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of the one part and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in respect of Gibraltar of the other part.

The Bill has been drafted by Daniel Greenberg CB and Nadia Sisarello together with the team at the Government Law Offices and with oversight by the Attorney General, Michael Llamas KC CMG.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, said: "This Bill is the draft of the law that will apply in the territory and jurisdiction of Gibraltar the international legal obligations the UK is acquiring for us under the Treaty. It is a genuinely seminal piece of legislation which will form the cornerstone of the architecture of all Treaty-related rules, regulations and laws going forward for, hopefully, decades to come.
"I am very grateful for the quick turnaround in the drafting of this Bill that Daniel, Nadia and the AG have delivered.

"The Bill will be certified as urgent so it can be dealt with in Parliament in good time for the earliest date that the Treaty can be given provisional application, that is to say the 10th of April. Gibraltar needs to have everything ready by that date, even if implementation then slips and the new rules and the transaction tax come in at a later date.

"This is a law that will affect generations of Gibraltarians and Gibraltar residents. It is the law that will tear down the frontier. It is the law that will kick open thousands of opportunities for our people.

"In my view this is the most important piece of law that our Parliament will deal with in my time in office, ranking in importance only with the legislation on equality and environmental protection that we have passed in the past 15 years we have been in Government.

"I look forward to debating the Bill in Parliament."

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