Argentina brands EU’s Falklands motion ‘great news’ just before bloc backs down

The Argentine government hailed the European Union ‘s recent stance as a “fundamental milestone.” Through an agreement with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the EU acknowledged the Falklands Islands as the Malvinas Islands and referred to them as a “disputed territory” rather than a “European overseas territory”. President Alberto Fernández expressed his enthusiasm over the “great news” of both blocs adopting a motion on the Falkland Islands for the first time. They now recognise it as a “disputed territory” and emphasise the significance of engaging in dialogue and respecting international law to peacefully resolve the sovereignty dispute concerning the archipelago. “We concluded the summit with great news: the EU and CELAC adopted a motion on the Malvinas issue. “Our claim to sovereignty, by peaceful means and through dialogue, remains intact,” the President said on Twitter, reviewing the results achieved at the bi-regional summit held on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels. Fernandez said the EU-Celac declaration was ‘great news’ (Image: Getty) However, just hours later, after pressure from the UK to prevent any reference to the sovereignty dispute over the South Atlantic archipelago, the EU was forced to back down on its joint declaration with the Celac countries issued at the end of a summit in Brussels. The move however was hailed by the Secretary for Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic, Guillermo Carmona, as a “very important step” that, for the first time, this bi-regional summit has considered Malvinas a disputed territory. “The EU and Celac declaration is a very important and relevant fact. The EU recognises the Malvinas issue as one of territorial integrity. In Great Britain they went crazy with the situation that was taking place. They found out that this paragraph on the Malvinas issue was being negotiated and they were very active in putting pressure for it not to be incorporated,” Carmona said in statements made to AM 530 radio. Carmona found the statement highly pertinent, as it indicated a shift in the geopolitical context surrounding the ‘Malvinas issue’. This change is influenced, among other factors, by Great Britain’s position in Europe following Brexit . “Until 2021, the European Union considered the Falklands to be European overseas territory. The Brexit opened a new scenario, this meant an opportunity for Argentina,” the official stressed. He stressed that the declaration reflected the EU’s position that “Malvinas are no longer considered European territory”, but “disputed territory”. The thirteenth point of the document stated: “On the question of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands/Malvinas, the European Union took note of Celac’s historic position based on the importance of dialogue and respect for international law in the peaceful settlement of disputes”. Speaking to Telam, Carmona said that “it is essential to take advantage of the international context to recover the full exercise of sovereignty over the territories occupied by the United Kingdom”, and added that “the next step for the EU is to urge Britain to sit down at the negotiating table”. Similarly, Gustavo Martínez Pandiani, the undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Foreign Ministry, referred to the declaration as a “fundamental milestone”. He emphasised its significance in the dispute over full sovereignty of the South Atlantic islands, noting that it represents a shift in Europe’s stance by moving away from its previous automatic alignment with the United Kingdom. “Argentina achieved a very significant diplomatic breakthrough on the question of the Malvinas Islands. For the first time in the history of bi-regional relations between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, the position of Celac was recognised”, Martínez Pandiani stressed in statements to Telam Radio. He also recalled that “for decades the Malvinas Islands were considered by the EU as European overseas territory”. “With the mention achieved, the first in these terms since 1999, the EU opens the door to the discussion on the sovereignty of the islands and allows for a greater individual approximation of the European countries towards the Argentine position,” he pointed out. Pandiani considered the declaration on Malvinas to be an “outstanding diplomatic achievement” that “reflects the perseverance of the Argentine foreign ministry headed by Santiago Cafiero and the determination of Alberto Fernández’s government to give life to a state policy that is so important for Argentines”. Carmona interpreted this bi-regional declaration as “opening up an important agenda, such as maintaining dialogue with the EU on the issue of illegal fishing in the South Atlantic”. “We want to continue deepening our action so that the EU fully recognises Argentina’s position,” the secretary said, and assured that “from the national government we are prioritising national interests in the South Atlantic area, something that had not happened under Mauricio Macri’s administration”. “Macri opened the doors to the United Kingdom at a time when it was leaving the European bloc and facilitated its insertion in Latin America, offering the markets of our region,” he recalled. The former foreign minister and current defence minister, Jorge Taiana, also echoed the news. “For the first time the European Union and CELAC adopted a motion on the Malvinas issue and recognised the sovereignty dispute over the islands. In the 21st century there is no longer any room for colonialism,” Taiana said in a message published on his official Twitter account. For his part, the governor of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, Gustavo Melella, described the joint declaration by the EU and CELAC as “a great step forward for the Malvinas issue”. “We are grateful for the historic solidarity of our brothers in Latin America and the Caribbean, now joined by that of the EU to put an end to the special and particular colonial situation that our islands are going through”, Melella wrote on his Twitter account, to then assess that “British isolation is increasingly clear”. Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.