Foreign Secretary calls Spanish Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo
William Hague and Spanish Foreign Minister confirm commitment to finding a diplomatic solution to the dispute at the Spain/Gibraltar border.
Gibraltar
William Hague spoke to Spanish Foreign Minister Garcia-Margallo today to welcome Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy’s commitment to reduce controls at the Spanish/Gibraltar border.
The Foreign Secretary said:
Our Prime Ministers agreed this morning on the need to de-escalate the current tensions.
I have now spoken to the Spanish Foreign Minister to reiterate that recent events at the Spain / Gibraltar border and continuing border delays are disproportionate.
I urged the Spanish authorities to de-escalate the situation. Chief Minister Picardo has been consistent throughout in his commitment to introduce measures on sustainable fishing in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. These matters are within the constitutional competence of Gibraltar and show Gibraltar’s genuine willingness to resolve the fishing dispute.
The Foreign Secretary and Spanish Foreign Minister agreed on the need for dialogue, in the context of the Foreign Secretary’s proposals from April last year to explore ad hoc dialogue involving the Government of Gibraltar.
Further information
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Photo of Gibraltar: Scott Wylie, used under flickr cc, www.scottwylie.co.uk