On July 18, in a “triumph of Argentine diplomacy”, for the first time in the history of bi-regional relations between the European Union and CELAC, the EU officially recognized in a joint declaration the position of Latin America and the Caribbean regarding the issue of the Malvinas Islands.
It was in this context that the newspaper Hoy spoke with Guillermo Carmona, secretary of the Falklands, Antarctica and South Atlantic of the Foreign Ministry, headed by Santiago Cafiero.
What is the context of this statement?
—We have always shown that Brexit (the United Kingdom leaving the European Union) was an opportunity for Argentina in the Malvinas issue. At the time, as a legislator, I proposed that the Argentine government had to have an agenda to take advantage of the United Kingdom’s departure.
The new government in 2019 took it as an important issue and, from there, we have carried out diplomatic actions that we intensified in the last two years, to generate favorable conditions and obtain a declaration from the European Union.
Malvinas is on the agenda of the bi-regional relationship between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union (EU), and this is a very significant advance that was preceded by two important milestones last year: in April, at the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly This topic has been worked on a lot; and in June we obtained a bilateral declaration between Argentina and the EU, a reference to Malvinas.
Now we have increased the scale of the relevance of the declaration, because it is no longer only in the bilateral relationship between Argentina and the European Union, but in a declaration that involves the two regions.
—What does it mean that the EU has “taken note” of the Malvinas issue?
—This means that you recognized the relevance of the historical position that Latin America and the Caribbean have regarding the Malvinas issue as a situation that involves a sovereignty dispute.
It is a very important recognition, because, until Brexit took place, the Malvinas Islands were considered overseas territories of the European Union. Going from that situation to a recognition of the Latin American and Caribbean position is an enormous advance.
-What is the next step?
—What we are aiming for is that all regions and countries not only recognize the sovereignty dispute, but also invite the United Kingdom to resume negotiations. It is a very concrete step that we hope to be able to achieve, and we will continue working in that direction.
For example, in the Organization of American States they have a consensus to request that negotiations be resumed, and the United States and Canada participate there.
Something equivalent occurs with African countries, with Asian countries, which call for a peaceful and negotiated resolution.
We also have issues related to fishing in the South Atlantic on the agenda with the European Union. In this sense, we express our concern about the presence of fishing boats from European countries, especially Spanish ones, in the Malvinas area that do not have authorization.
—What is seen from the United Kingdom regarding the request to resume negotiations?
—We know that there is a British reluctance. This is publicly known and this reluctance is causing international reputation problems for the United Kingdom, because there is a very strong call from the international community to resume negotiations.
In this sense, the reluctance to comply with international law on the part of the United Kingdom has negative consequences.
How important are these elections?
—This is a State policy, it is enshrined in the National Constitution. The focus of the current management was to adjust all actions to that State policy, and one would expect that whatever the next government is, what the Constitution establishes will be complied with.
In this sense, we have a negative history, that is why what has happened is so important, that is why we must continue working so that the international community expresses itself categorically in favor of what Argentina is demanding.
2023-07-31 03:04:22
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