Slap in London: the EU accepts that the Falklands are defined as Malvinas, satisfying Buenos Aires
The UK's Foreign Office has suffered a major blow following the European Union's apparent recognition of the Argentine name for the Falkland Islands.
Earlier this week, EU leaders met in Brussels with officials from 33 Latin American countries, known as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and signed the EU-CELAC summit declaration (pdf). The document referred to the disputed Falkland Islands as "Islas Malvinas", which is the Argentine name for the territory.
Argentina has always claimed the British Isles in the South Atlantic, over which the two countries fought a war in 1982.
“Regarding the issue of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, the European Union has taken note of CELAC's historic position, based on the importance of dialogue and respect for international law in the peaceful settlement of disputes,” reads the statement. In the Spanish text presented by theArgentine government , but made out to both, there is only the word Malvinas.
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero hailed the move as a "triumph of diplomacy" on Twitter.
Triumph of Argentine diplomacy: for the first time the European Union and CELAC adopted a motion on the Malvinas Cuestión
Accessed the text of the declaration: https://t.co/ac5wemv0Oj pic.twitter.com/hUcq6MtlFz
— Cancillery Argentina
(@CancilleriaARG) July 18, 2023
The Argentine government hopes to continue the dialogue with the EU on the Malvinas Islands, Cafiero said, adding that it was a further invitation to the UK to resume sovereignty talks with Argentina.
After the meeting in Brussels and the motion on the Malvinas issue, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez wrote on Twitter: "Our claim to sovereignty, by peaceful means and through dialogue, remains intact."
Conflict over the archipelago's sovereign rights has been ongoing, following a 2013 referendum in which islanders voted to retain their political status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
Following the UK's exit from the European Union in 2020, the EU refused to allow the Falklands to be part of the UK-EU trade deal. As a result, the territory is subject to tariffs on exports to the EU.
Now the EU is carrying out this umpteenth slight against London. which did not go unheard across the Channel and resulted in a response from the British foreign secretary.
The Falkland Islanders have the right to choose their own future.
99.8% of Falkland Islanders voted to be part of the UK family.
Argentina and the EU should listen to their democratic choice.
—James Cleverly
(@JamesCleverly) July 20, 2023
The foreign affairs minister of the United Kingdom underlines how the inhabitants of the Falklands/Malvinas have expressed themselves overwhelmingly in favor of union with London, but this is not considered by Buenos Aires also due to the small population.
Responding to the EU's use of the Malvinas name for the islands, Lord Davies of Gower called the bloc's decision "appalling".
His comments came after Buenos Aires withdrew from its 2016 joint communiqué, in which the UK and Argentina agreed to work together on various issues, including cooperation in international peace and security.
The CELAC countries support Argentina's ambition to continue international negotiations on the future of the disputed islands. During the Brussels summit, CELAC negotiators argued that Brexit was another reason to continue the discussion, since the Falkland Islands are no longer an overseas territory of an EU member state.
In the aftermath of the EU-CELAC statement, European External Action Service spokesman Peter Stano told the Independent that EU member states have not changed their views on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas.
“The EU is unable to express any position on the Falklands/Malvinas, as there has been no discussion or decision by the Council [of member states] on the matter. The EU does not take a position on these issues without a mandate from the Council,” Stano said.
However, it must be emphasized that the decision to call the disputed territory in the South Atlantic Malvinas instead of the Falklands cannot be considered casual, but is the expression of the Commission's hostility towards London after Brexit. This attitude is by no means ignored by the Foreign Office and will lead to a souring in bilateral relations without solving the Falklands problem.
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The article Slap in London: the EU accepts that the Falklands are defined as Malvinas, pleasing Buenos Aires comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/schiaffo-a-londra-la-ue-accetta-che-le-falklands-siano-definite-malvinas-accontentando-buenos-aires/ on Fri, 21 Jul 2023 11:00:12 +0000.