UK Prime Minister (PM) David Cameron and PM of Spain Mariano Rajoy had a milestone conversation today regarding their dispute over the British territory of Gibraltar.
According to Bloomberg, Gibraltar laid out concrete blocks off its coast and Spain responded to the action, which Rajoy deemed “unacceptable,” by creating delays with increased border controls.
The blocks, according to Spain, were in conflict with Spanish environmental laws and posed a risk to their fishing industry because fishing nets could catch on the concrete blocks, BBC writes.
Over the weekend, Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, threatened even more measures Spain might take, such as charging motorists 50 euros ($67) for crossing the border, imposing flight restrictions, and investigating more than 6,000 Gibraltarians with properties in Spain, BBC reports.
No. 10 Downing Street issued a statement that Cameron called Rajoy this morning to talk about the dispute, mentioning that the UK’s “position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar and its surrounding waters will not change.”
Rajoy committed to reducing border control measures, and both PMs agreed “there should be a solution to the fishing dispute.” The next step will be for UK Foreign Secretary William Hague to have a similar conversation with Garcia-Margallo.
Photo courtesy of Gibnews.net, Wikimedia Commons