The UK announced this week that it had reached an agreement with Spain over Gibraltar…

Date: 20/04/2000

...which will open up the disputed territory's finance sector to the EU and unblock a raft of stalled Union legislation. British Foreign Minister Robin Cook confirmed that the deal, clinched after nine months of “difficult and sometimes very complicated negotiations” with Spain, would pave the way for adoption of legislation such as planned EU directives on take-overs, insolvency and a European company statute which have been blocked by the long-running dispute.