Mariano Rajoy of Spain has added a new international tension
to his conflict with the UK over Gibraltar. This time is with Portugal. He has
instructed his Permanent Mission in New York to send a Note Verbale to the UN
Secretariat stating that Spain considers the Selvagens Islands, an archipelago
South of Madeira Island and on the way to Canary Islands, as a mere collection
of rocks. And for that reason, Spain cannot accept any Portuguese claim over
the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around the Selvagens.
This position is touching a sensitive chord in Portuguese
history. There has been, in the past, for many centuries, a strong anti-Spanish
patriotic feeling. This feeling has been seriously attenuated during the last
two decades, but it is still there. It is never a good idea to kick the
sleeping dog.
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