The British government said Thursday that the European Union made an “unfortunate choice of words” when it referred to the UK-administered Falkland Islands as the Malvinas, a name favored by Argentina.
A statement from Summit of the European Union and Latin America On Tuesday he referred to the South Atlantic archipelago as the “Malvinas Islands/Falkland Islands”. This diplomatic victory was hailed by Argentina, which laid claim to the islands.
It was seen by some in the UK as pejorative to Britain, which left the European Union in 2020 and did not attend the summit to make its case.
Max Blaine, a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said EU officials had “since made their position clear”.
“It was completely unacceptable for the EU to question the right of the Falkland Islanders to decide their own future,” he said.
To be clear, the Falklands They are BritishThis was the choice of the islanders themselves. The EU has now rightly made clear that its position on the Falkland Islands has not changed following its unfortunate choice of words.”
He added, “The concern is any suggestion that EU countries recognize Argentina’s claims on the Falkland Islands, which they have now made clear are incorrect.”
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands, which lie about 300 miles (480 kilometers) from South America and are home to about 3,500 people.
Argentina says the islands were illegally taken from them in 1833. Britain, which says its territorial claim dates back to 1765, sent a warship to the islands in 1833 to drive out Argentine forces who sought to assert sovereignty over the territory.
Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, sparking a two-month war, which Britain won, that claimed the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers, and three islanders.
In 2013 the population voted overwhelmingly to remain in the UK Overseas Territory.
The Falkland Islands local government also criticized the use of malvinas on Thursday, urging the EU to respect its right to self-determination.
“We are very disappointed that it has been decided, without interference from the Falkland Islands or the UK government, to refer to our islands by the name given to us by our aggressive and hostile neighbour, Argentina,” Teslin Parkman, deputy speaker of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly, said in a statement on Thursday.
Earlier, Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said the summit announcement represented “a renewed call from the international community to the United Kingdom, urging it to fulfill its commitment to resume sovereignty negotiations with Argentina.”
But the EU said in a statement that it was not in a position to “express any position” on the matter, and said that member states had not changed their positions on it.
