(Correct in the second paragraph, last sentence, the year of the Falklands War: It took place in 1982 rpt 1982.)
LONDON/BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) – Falkland Islands or Malvinas? The government in London on Thursday expressed outrage at an EU document in which the British Overseas Territory was mentioned by both the English and Spanish names.
Argentina has long had claims to the small group of islands with only about 3,000 inhabitants in the South Atlantic. However, the British were able to repel Buenos Aires’ attempt to use military force to take control of the islands in the so-called Falklands War in 1982.
The background to the current excitement is a wording in the final declaration of an EU summit with Latin American and Caribbean countries (Celac). In addition to the British name “Falkland Islands”, the Spanish name “Islas Malvinas” is also used. One searches in vain for older mentions of the Spanish name in the online archive of the EU.
After a spate of British media coverage on the issue, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was compelled on Thursday to note that 99.8 per cent of the people of the Falkland Islands had voted in a referendum to remain part of the UK’s ‘family’. “Argentina and the EU should listen to their democratic choice,” Cleverly wrote on Twitter.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Conservative) had previously spoken of Brussels’ “regrettable choice of words”. In the meantime, it has rightly been made clear that the position of the EU has not changed.
The EU External Action Service said: “EU Member States have not changed their views and positions on the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas.” However, the Opinion continued to use both the Spanish and English names. It also says that the EU always has an open ear for the views of its partners and takes note of them./mjm/DP/stw