Page:The Future of the Falkland Islands and Its People.pdf/32

 Guiana to opting out like the Channel Islands or Greenland.

Apart from its possible arrangements with the European Union, the Falklands may adopt a flexible approach providing also for a free trade agreement with the emerging FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas).

This is to say that Britain's responsibility in the sphere of foreign affairs would be more of formal and technical nature, whereas the Falklands foreign policy would be made by the Falklands prime minister and cabinet of ministers with a particular minister being possibly responsible for that.

In any case, there is no reason why the Falkland Islanders should base their exercise of self-determination on anything but weighing the practical gains and losses for them pertaining to each option. Others may opine differently, e.g. from an Argentine point of view the independence option would seem 'the lesser evil' – if not a step toward annexation of the Islands then at least as a way of reducing Britain’s territorial presence in the Southwest Atlantic to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; besides, the concept of devolved integration would be quite alien to the Argentine political culture and tradition.

To sum it up, in terms of internal development independence could hardly bring to the Falklands anything they do not have already or cannot achieve by natural evolution towards devolved integration. In external aspect – which however does affect internal development – independence might somewhat restrict Falklands' capabilities to pursue its national interest. Therefore, an appropriate form of devolved integration (free association) would seem to combine the advantages of both independence and affiliation to an important country, while minimizing their respective drawbacks.

Sofia - Livingston Island - Ushuaia - Puerto Williams - Punta Arenas February 2003