José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero tricentenary of British rule and rejected the Gibraltarians' requests for Spain to recognise their right to self-determination, at the end of 2004 his policy changed and he became the first Spanish prime minister to accept the participation of Gibraltar as a partner on the same level as Spain and the United Kingdom in discussions both countries hold regularly concerning the territory. The decision was criticized by many in Spain as a surrender of their claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar as well as an alleged disruption of the Treaty of Utrecht. Zapatero said it was a new way to solve a
Mariano Fernández Bermejo department for suits in Madrid. He is a founding member of the Progressive Union of Public Prosecutors. Bermejo is a member of the Socialist Party. He was appointed justice minister to the cabinet led by prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in a reshuffle on 12 February 2007. He succeeded Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar as justice minister. Bermejo retained his post in a May 2008 reshuffle. He resigned from office on 24 February 2009 due to his alleged intervention to a corruption investigation about a member of the People's Party. Bermejo was replaced by Francisco Caamaño Domínguez in the post.