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
Policy Network including; Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet in 2009; UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown in 2010; Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg in 2011, and Irish Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore in 2012. Participants have included Brazilian presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; U.S. Vice President Joe Biden; Director-General of the World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy; and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The 2013 Progressive Governance conference was hosted by the Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt in Copenhagen in April 2013. President Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson: Former UK first secretary of state, business secretary and EU Trade commissioner