Chief Minister and Minister Arias-Vasquez attend Global Progressive Mobilisation conference in Barcelona - 274/2026

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo KC MP, and the Minister for Health, Care and Business, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez MP, are at the Global Progressive Mobilisation conference in Barcelona at the invitation of Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Prime Minister of Spain. The Chief Minister and Minister Arias-Vasquez will also attend the official dinner hosted by Prime Minister Sánchez later this evening.

The Global Progressive Mobilisation brings together progressive leaders, policymakers, activists and thinkers from around the world. This year's conference featured an exceptionally high-level line-up of speakers, including Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain; José Manuel Albares Bueno, Spain's Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation; José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, former Prime Minister of Spain; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; António Costa, President of the European Council; David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, among many others.

As part of the programme, the Chief Minister was invited to speak in a panel discussion on "Confronting the Cost of Living Crisis", where he shared Gibraltar's perspective on the challenges facing working people and families, and on the importance of progressive governments responding in a practical and compassionate way to the pressures created by rising living costs.

The Chief Minister said: "I am very grateful to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for inviting Gemma and I to attend the Global Progressive Mobilisation in Barcelona and to the official dinner hosted by him alongside it.

"It was a real pleasure to be able to take part in such an important panel discussion on the cost of living crisis, which continues to affect working people and families across the world. I took the opportunity to explain Gibraltar's own approach to supporting our community through difficult globally economically uncertain times.

"It is great to be able to catch up with good friends and to have the opportunity to continue strengthening the ties of friendship and dialogue with colleagues from across Europe and beyond, which remain so important in the modern political and international context."