Gibraltar talks break new ground

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The 300-year row between Spain and Britain over Gibraltar enters a new and different phase this week as talks begin with, for the first time, the Gibraltarians also sitting at the negotiating table.

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That provoked the almost unanimous opposition of Gibraltarians. Mr Caruana called a referendum in which 99% of the Rock's voters said they did not want any form of shared sovereignty with their old enemy, Spain.

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The socialists have exchanged the stick for the carrot and made it clear that, while they do not intend to drop Spain's historic claim to sovereignty, they want to woo the support of Gibraltarians.

The new government has, therefore, dropped Madrid's traditional insistence that it can only deal directly with the Foreign Office and invited Mr Caruana to the table.

Guardian UK