
Moody's rating agency threatened Wednesday to downgrade Spain's credit rating, hammering markets as it warned of a 170-billion-Euro refinancing challenge ahead in 2011.

For 2011, the European Commission (EC) intends to maintain fishing quotas for hake in the waters of the North (Gran Sol and North Sea) and increase catches by 15 per cent in waters of the South (from the Bay of Biscay to the Gulf of Cadiz, including the coasts of Galicia and Portugal).

New Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez has declared that her objective in respect of Gibraltar is “to generate enough confidence to renew bilateral talks about Gibraltar’s sovereignty with the British Government.”

Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez dismissed claims from Spain that two members of Basque separatist group ETA were trained in Venezuela as part of an international campaign to besmirch his government.

Spain presented a tough 2011 budget, deepening an austerity drive and taxing the rich more heavily as it seeks to boost confidence in a fragile economy ahead of a general strike.

The Gibraltar Government made public an apology to Spain at the weekend after a Madrid newspaper revealed that two Gibraltar policemen illegally searched a house in Alcaidesa and seized evidence without first informing the Spanish authorities.

The controversy over a Spanish town Mayor proposal for a toll on traffic to neighbouring Gibraltar has reached the European Union. Ashley Fox, Gibraltar’s Tory MEP, has asked the European Commission to state whether the proposal would breach EU rules on freedom of movement.

Spain's lawmakers gave their final approval to a package of government-proposed labour market reforms aimed at cutting down the country's high unemployment rate and reviving the economy.

Sun, sea and sangria come top of the list for European pensioners seeking to relocate for retirement, a new survey showed this week. The survey by employee management consulting firm Aon Corporation found that one in four Europeans wishing to retire abroad would like to move to Spain, followed by France, Italy and the United States.

Spain’s unemployment rate already the highest in the Euro region rose to the most in more than a decade in the second quarter: 20.09% up from 20.05% in the first quarter, according to the country’s National Statistics Institute. This is the highest since 1997.