The UK has protested to Argentina over its interception of Falkland Islands-licensed fishing boats, mainly Spanish in disputed South Atlantic waters and in the River Plate when they approach the port of Montevideo.
The Tripartite Forum which includes Spain, UK and Gibraltar is dead and the incoming Conservative government of Mariano Rajoy is not willing to accept Gibraltar as a third party in sovereignty talks over the disputed British Overseas Territory.
The Spanish government has expressed ‘concern’ about claims from the Vigo-based fleet operating in the south-west Atlantic which has come under continuous harassment from Argentine naval patrols claiming they are fishing ‘illegally’ in ‘Argentine waters’ in spite of having licences awarded by the Falkland Islands government.
Incoming Conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called on all Spaniards to work together to overcome the debt crisis and promised a new economic policy to deal with unemployment that is more than double the European Union average.
The leader of the ruling GSD in Gibraltar, Peter Caruana said he was confident Spain’s Partido Popular would remain committed to trilateral dialogue, even if not necessarily to the Trilateral Forum (Gib, UK and Spain) itself in its present form.
Leaders of Spain’s indebted autonomous regions pledged on Thursday to control spending after meeting incoming Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to discuss their troubled accounts, which are at the heart of the country’s economic crisis.
Just a few days after the Conservative Popular Party swept into power in Spain, the British Government has underscored its long-standing assurance that it will not talk about Gibraltar’s sovereignty against the wishes of its people.
Spain’s Conservative daily ABC diplomatic correspondent is predicting the demise of the Tripartite Forum, involving Spain, UK and Gibraltar, under Mariano Rajoy PP government expected to take office in mid December
For the first time since data is recorded the number of people leaving Spain in search of better opportunities will be higher in 2011 than those incoming, according to the country’s stats office, INE.
The president of Spain’s banking group Santander Emilio Botin described Brazil as “a very interesting market for Spain” following a meeting with Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff.