Great Britain was furious with the European Union. Malvinas/Falklands were mentioned in the post-summit declaration

The Anglo-Argentine dispute over the Falklands/Malvinas escalated 41 years ago when the Argentines seized Islas Malvinas (the name of the islands in Spanish). In response, Margaret Thatcher sent the British navy to reclaim the Falklands – as these islands are called by the British. However, the conflict dates back to the 19th century, when it gained independence. The British maintain to this day that the territory of the islands still belongs to them. However, they are slowly losing more supporters in this matter.

The European Union has signed a document that mentions the Malvinas, not the Falkland Islands

At the beginning of the week, the Latin America and Caribbean Summit was held. After its conclusion, the countries (except Nicaragua) signed a declaration in which they expressed concern about the war in Ukraine. The document also referred to the Malwins. “Regarding the issue of sovereignty of the Malvinas/Falklands, the European Union has taken note of CELAC’s historic position of dialogue and respect for international law in the peaceful settlement of disputes,” the document reads.

And it was the use of this name next to the name of the Falkland Islands that infuriated the British – Buenos Aires, in turn, considered it a “diplomatic triumph”. As they informed, this is the first time that the EU has officially recognized the position of Latin American countries in relation to the Falkland Islands in a joint declaration.

On Wednesday, British diplomats demanded that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, clarify the Community’s position on the issue. However, the latter remained deaf to these requests and was only to reply that everything “has been decided by the 27 Member States and the CELAC countries. We cannot make a statement on their behalf.”

Great Britain is not a member of the European Union. They are saddened by the use of Malwina’s word. If they were still in the Union, they would probably press not to

said Charles Michel.

The British still consider the Falklands to be theirs

According to officials in London and Brussels, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had asked the EU before the summit to omit the Falklands from the declaration. A person close to him said that regardless of Argentinian lobbying, the Falklands are British. And she cited statistics according to which a decade ago they reacted similarly when in 2016 the Argentine foreign minister said that the declaration is a call for the British to start talks on the independence of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas. He added that he hoped that dialogue on this matter with the European Union would allow him to take another step in this direction.

On the other hand, Peter Stano, spokesman for the European External Action Service, the Community’s diplomatic unit, stated that EU member states have not changed their position on the islands, and the EU itself is not able to express its views on this matter, as no debate has taken place on this matter.