”Argentina will defend its claim” over the Malvinas Islands and companies drilling for oil off the coast of the contested resource-rich archipelago “will not only face administrative consequences but also prison sentences” warned Daniel Filmus, head of Argentina's recently created Malvinas Islands Secretariat, in an interview with The Guardian.
The Tory plan for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union cleared its first hurdle in the House of Lords last week. The Bill was given an unopposed second reading after a lengthy seven-hour debate in the Lords, in which more than 60 peers spoke.
Even when there has been no official reply from London to Argentina's message to mark the 181th anniversary (January 3) of what it considers the usurpation of our Malvinas Islands, there was a strong reaction from Tory MPs when it was revealed that UK contributes several million pounds in aid programs to Argentina.
Argentine former senator Daniel Filmus on Monday afternoon will be inaugurated as head of the newly created Secretariat of Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and adjoining maritime spaces in the South Atlantic Affairs, which will press forward with Argentine claims over those territories.
In a long statement recalling the 181st anniversary of the 'usurpation of our Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the adjoining maritime spaces' (almost three million square kilometers) the Argentine Foreign ministry contrasts Buenos Aires peaceful, dialogue attitude with the verbal aggressiveness from British officials when referring to the Malvinas issue.
Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed Britain's steadfast support for Falkland Islands self determination and development of its resources, outstanding the Falklands referendum as the great event of 2013, a year which he described as 'momentous'.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy drew a line under the diplomatic bag incident at the Gibraltar border following a conversation with his British counterpart, David Cameron. The two men spoke on the side lines of an EU summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, although their conversation centered mostly on Scotland and Catalonia, according to Spanish reports. “This (incident) has been resolved” said the Spanish president.
Outraged British members of Parliament from across the political spectrum reacted with disbelief to the explanations provided by the Spanish Government on the UK diplomatic bags incident at the Gibraltar border and called on the British Government to take a tougher stance in response.
A landmark trade deal reached between the European Union (EU) and Canada, that will benefit the UK economy and businesses by over £1.3 billion a year, has been welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron.
Britain has enshrined, in a written statement to the United Nations, its commitment that it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content. And it has also reaffirmed its sovereignty over Gibraltar and its territorial waters, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle.