• Balearic Islands. Algeria invades Cabrera

In two years the Government of the nation has not reacted and now has no choice but to use all its diplomacy to negotiate with Algeria if it wants to recover the waters of Cabrera . The Government of the nation had known for almost two years the decision of Algeria to expand its maritime demarcation by 300 kilometers invading a small strip of waters of the Cabrera National Park . In colloquial terms it is an invasion although this term cannot be used legally. It is very different from what happened in July 2002 when the Moroccan Army invaded the islet of Perejil .

It was in April 2018 when a decree signed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika included in the domain zone waters of the Mediterranean around the border to Algeria from Morocco to Tunisia. Thus fixed what is called Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) . The Government of the nation knew this decree but did not communicate it to the Balearic authorities. It was three weeks ago when the Ministry of Environment noticed the existence of the decree of the Government of Algeria and ordered a consultation with its technicians. When analyzing the coordinates marked by the decree, he discovered that the area of ​​Algerian sovereignty invaded the waters of the Cabrera archipelago.

According to the aforementioned decree, "the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria exercises its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in this area in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of ​​1982 ". He adds that he exercises his rights in the area of ​​exploration and use of resources and here the greatest conflict arises, the fear that Algeria intends to make oil surveys.

The extension of the domain zone affects Spain and also Italy but with the particularity that in the case of Cabrera it does not invade not only the Spanish domain zone but also the territorial waters of Cabrera, the 12 nautical miles from the coast of the archipelago .

The Foreign Minister, Arancha González Laya , has said that this is an issue that both countries must negotiate and that so far there is no more than "pretensions." These disputes between countries with coast are common and Spain currently maintains one with Portugal over its limits to the south of the Peninsula. A month ago, Morocco also approved extending its EEZ by invading Canary waters. It is customary for a country to express its desire to establish a EEZ but cannot do so unilaterally but always through negotiation, as established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. If there is no agreement, the decision will Take United Nations.

Now, therefore, the Government of Spain has no choice but to negotiate with that of Algeria if it wants to regain its jurisdiction over the waters of Cabrera. It is not the first time that Algeria intends to expand the domain of its waters affecting Spain. He already tried in 1994, then about 95.5 kilometers, 53 sea miles. This extension invaded the 12 miles of jurisdictional waters that the Mediterranean countries have. The Government now has the mission of negotiating with Algeria and should use diplomacy to avoid conflicts. Algeria supplies most of the gas it consumes to Spain. Curiously, the decree of the Government of Algeria came two months after Gas Natural and the Algerian state company d'Algèria Sonatrach announced the extension until 2030 of the gas exploitation and supply agreement.

The deputies and Balearic senators of the PP recorded yesterday in both houses questions to the Government about the enlargement by Algeria of its zone of economic exclusion in the Mediterranean Sea. The Government is asked "when did it become aware" of the extension of exclusion by Algeria and "what relations" it has maintained with the Algerian Government since then to preserve environmental interests in the maritime environment of the island of Cabrera. In addition, as deputy Miquel Jerez points out, they also want the Executive to “explain to what extent the expansion by Algeria is likely to affect the environment of the Cabrera National Park; if it is directly related to Algerian economic interests specifically in the exploration of hydrocarbons and, if so, what actions do you plan to take to reverse it ». It should be remembered that the Minister of Environment and Territory, Miquel Mir, defended on Wednesday that the Government understands that the Royal Algerian decree that would affect Cabrera waters "cannot be applied." He added that the Balearic Islands have requested information from the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

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