Live News From Spain As It Happens

BRITISH authorities have won their ongoing battle of wits with the Spanish government over concrete blocks thrown into the sea into what the former say are Gibraltarian waters and the latter says belong to Spain.

Last summer saw tensions flare between the two countries as Spain claimed fishermen from the province of Cádiz would lose money due to their fishing grounds being damaged as a result of concrete blocks placed in the sea by Gibraltar to create an artificial reef.

Gibraltar maintained that aside from the reef being within its own waters, the idea was to encourage sea-life to breed and restore already over-fished grounds.

In a tit-for-tat exercise, Spanish border guards caused delays of up to seven hours for commuters entering and leaving the Rock, leading to diplomatic upheaval between the UK and Spain. 

Now, however, the European Commission (EC) has completed its fact-finding mission and declared the concrete blocks do not constitute a breach of EU environmental laws.

And other activities Spain reported to the EC, such as filling in rocks on the coast off Eastside and Sovereign Bay to increase the size of Gibraltar's territory and spread out into its sea, as well as so-called 'bunkering', are not against EU law either.