Now, neither party knows how to move talks forward, given that the established legal framework put in place may well be deemed anti-competitive.
This paralysis of talks between the two parties has come at a time when significant progress appeared to have been made, following an earlier ruling by the European Commission that the existing stevedoring model in the country did not comply with directives it had established, resulting in a rolling series of fines being imposed.
Now, it seems, neither unions nor owners want to come to an agreement that could see them facing fines at home for anti-competitive behaviour, despite the fact that stevedores had, apparently, been negotiating on the basis that Spanish ports had to be competitive to be financially viable.