A Downing Street spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister met with
Prime Minister Rajoy of Spain this afternoon. began by restating the UK’s
support for the Spanish Government on the issue of Catalonia –
stating the rule of law must be upheld and the Spanish
constitution respected.
“The Prime Minister gave an update on the Brexit negotiations,
confirming that she would be reconvening talks with the European
Commission before the end of the week. She said both sides were
positive about the progress that could be made ahead of December
European Council. Prime Minister Rajoy said he shared the desire
to move talks on to the next stage of negotiations as quickly as
possible and that Spain would remain a constructive
partner.
“Prime Minister Rajoy spoke about the deep and strong
relationship between Spain and the UK, referring to the
significant investment that Spanish companies have made in the UK
and the fruitful trading relationship. The Prime Minister
welcomed views on how we could continue a good trading
relationship between the two countries after Brexit and ensure
this was as frictionless as possible.
“The two leaders spoke about foreign policy and the threat of
Russia, agreeing that it was important to maintain a collective
and rigorous approach to sanctions and to counter
disinformation.
“They also spoke about increasing co-operation to counter the
growing threat of terrorism. The Prime Minister outlined that the
nature of terrorism was changing and how the internet and social
media was providing terrorists with an extra tool to accelerate
and amplify the terror they seek to spread.
“Lastly, Prime Minister Rajoy raised the issue of the abhorrent
treatment of Libyan people being smuggled into Europe and the
ongoing efforts to help repatriate them. The Prime Minister said
that this was an important challenge and she wanted to work
closely with her European colleagues now and in the future to see
what more could be done by, for example, improving conditions in
the country of origin. ”
