Foreign relations of the Faroe Islands

This article is about the foreign relations of Faroe Islands. For the foreign relations of sovereign state of the Kingdom of Denmark, see foreign relations of Denmark.

Location of the Faroe Islands

Being part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the foreign relations of Faroe Islands are handled in cooperation with the Danish government and Government of Faroe Islands.

Unlike Denmark, Faroe Islands is not a part of the European Union, and Danish citizens who are residents of the islands are not citizens of the EU.

## General relations

[edit]

The Constitution of Denmark states that the Danish government handles in principle all foreign and security relations for the Kingdom.[1] However, the Foreign Policy Act of 2005 allows the Islands to make agreements when they relate solely to matters within the powers of the Islands' government.[2] The High Commission of Denmark in the Faroe Islands represents the Danish government on the Islands. The current Foreign Minister of the Faroe Islands is Høgni Hoydal.

### Diplomatic missions

[edit]

* Mission of the Faroes to the European Union, Brussels
* Representation of the Faroes, Copenhagen
* Representation of the Faroe Islands, London
* Representation of the Faroe Islands, Moscow
* Representation of the Faroe Islands to Israel, Tel Aviv[3]
* Representation of the Faroes, Reykjavík[4]
* Representation of Faroe Islands, Beijing
* Representation of Faroe Islands, Washington, D.C.[5]

### Membership in international organisations

[edit]

* Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
* Food and Agriculture Organization (associate member)
* International Maritime Organization (associate member)
* North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission
* UNESCO (associate member)
* West Nordic Council

### Treaties

[edit]

* Free trade agreements with Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.[2]
* Fisheries agreements with Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia.[2]
* Hoyvík Agreement, guaranteeing full freedom of movement for goods, services, capital and people between the Faroes and Iceland.[2]

## EU relations

[edit]

Main article: Faroe Islands and the European Union

As explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties, the Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union. This means that the free movement of goods, people, capital and services and other directives by the EU do not apply between it and the Faroe Islands.

A protocol to the treaty of accession of Denmark to the European Communities stipulates that Danish nationals residing in the Faroe Islands are not to be considered as Danish nationals within the meaning of the treaties. Hence, Danish people living in the Faroes are not citizens of the European Union (other EU nationals living there remain EU citizens)[citation needed].

The Faroe Islands are not part of the Schengen Area. However, persons travelling between the Faroe Islands and the Schengen Area are not subject to border controls,[6] although there may be identity checks when checking in for flights[citation needed].

Charges for international services such as phone roaming and bank transfers are much higher than inside the EU[citation needed].

### EU boycott against the Faroe Islands

[edit]

In July 2013 EU imposed sanctions on the Faroe Islands due to a dispute over the fishing quota of herring and mackerel.[7] The boycott, which started on 28 August 2013, banned Faroese vessels carrying herring or mackerel from all EU ports, including Denmark, Sweden and Finland.[8] The Faroe Islands could no longer export herring or mackerel to EU countries. The boycott was lifted on 20 August 2014 after a breakthrough in negotiations which saw the Faroese share of the total mackerel quota jump from 4.62% to 12.6%.[9]

## Russia relations

[edit]

The Islands reached a fisheries agreement with the Soviet Union in the 1970s (one of the first western countries to do so during the Cold War), and Russia has remained a major export market in the post-Soviet era.[10] The tensions between the EU and Russia following the 2014 Russo-Ukrainian War did not affect this trade, and in 2015 the Islands opened a diplomatic mission in Moscow, and signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union in 2018.[10] In 2022, the Faroese PM Bárður á Steig Nielsen condemned the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11] In late 2023, the Islands and Russia renewed their fisheries agreement for one year.[12]

## UK relations

[edit]

See Foreign relations of the United Kingdom

* The Faroe Islands maintains a representation in London.[13]
* The United Kingdom is accredited to the Faroe Islands through its consulate in Tórshavn.[14]

The UK occupied Faroe Islands from 1940 until 1945, when the Faroe Islands were returned to Denmark.

Bilaterally the two countries have a Double Taxation Agreement,[15] and a Free Trade Agreement.[16]

From 1 January 1997 until 30 December 2020, trade between the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom was governed by the Faroe Islands–European Union Trade Agreement, while the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union.[17]

Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the UK and the Faroe Islands signed a Free Trade Agreement on 31 January 2019. The Faroe Islands–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement is a continuity trade agreement, based on the EU free trade agreement, which entered into force on 1 January 2021.[16][18] Trade value between the Faroe Islands and the United Kingdom was worth £1,923 million in 2022.[19]

## US relations

[edit]

The Foreign Minister Jenis av Rana met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Copenhagen on 22 July 2020.[10] On 28 November the Islands signed a partnership declaration with the United States.[10] The US ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands had previously exerted pressure on the Islands not to let Huawei supply its 5G network infrastructure.[10] In October, the Commander of United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Robert P. Burke, had also met with the Foreign Minister.[10]

## See also

[edit]

* Kingdom of Denmark portal

* Faroese independence movement
* Politics of the Faroe Islands

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of. "Greenland and The Faroe Islands". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
2. ^ a b c d "The Faroe Islands in the international community". www.government.fo. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
3. ^ "The Representation of the Faroe Islands to Israel". www.government.fo.
4. ^ "Foreign Relations of the Faroe Islands". faroeislands.fo. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
5. ^ The Representation of the Faroe Islands in Washington D.C.
6. ^ "EUR-Lex – 42000A0922(08) – EN". Official Journal L 239 , 22/09/2000 P. 0097 – 0105. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
7. ^ "EU imposes sanctions on Faroe Islands for overfishing". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
8. ^ "Де можна терміново позичити гроші – гроші під відсотки". dengidozp.com.ua. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
9. ^ "European Commission – PRESS RELEASES – Press release – Herring dispute: EU lifts measures against the Faroe Islands". europa.eu. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
10. ^ a b c d e f Poulsen, Regin Winther. "Forget Greenland, There's a New Strategic Gateway to the Arctic". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
11. ^ "The Faroese government condemns the Russian attack on Ukraine". www.government.fo. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
12. ^ "Fisheries deal with Russia renewed". Kringvarp Føroya. 10 December 2023.
13. ^ "Relations with the United Kingdom". Government of the Faroe Islands. Archived from the original on 5 February 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
14. ^ "British Consulate in Torshavn". British-Consulate.Net. Archived from the original on 14 October 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
15. ^ HM Revenue & Customs (3 March 2010). "Faroes: tax treaties". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
16. ^ a b Department for International Trade; Hollinbery, Sir George; Eustice, George (1 February 2019). "UK and Faroe Islands sign trade continuity agreement". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
17. ^ "EU - Faeroe Islands". World Trade Organization. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
18. ^ Chaplain, Chloe (27 January 2020). "Brexit trade deals: the agreements in place already, from Chile to the Faroe Islands – and what the UK could trade with them". The i Paper. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
19. ^ Department for International Trade (3 November 2022). "UK trade agreements in effect". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.

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