Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, Faroes, or Faeroes (Faroese: Føroyar, Danish: Færøerne) are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland.

The Faroe Islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland.

The Faroe Islands have been an autonomous province of Denmark since 1948. Over the years, the Faroese have been granted control of most matters. Some areas still remain the responsibility of Denmark, though, such as military defence, foreign affairs and law.

The Faroe Islands have close traditional ties with Iceland and with Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

The Faroe Islands were politically associated with Denmark in 1380, when Norway entered the Kalmar Union with Denmark, which gradually evolved into Danish control of the islands, but this association ceased in 1814. The islands are represented on the Nordic Council by the Danish delegation.

The population is around 48,000.

The capital (and largest city) is Tórshavn.

Administratively, the islands are divided into 34 municipalities (kommunur) within which there are 120 or so settlements. Traditionally, there are also the six sýslur ("regions": Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy and Suðuroy). Although today sýsla technically means "police district", the term is still commonly used to indicate a geographical region. In earlier times, each sýsla had its own ting (assembly), the so-called várting ("spring ting").

In June 2008 unemployment declined to 1.1%, before rising to 3.4% in early 2009. Nevertheless, the almost total dependence on fishing means that the economy remains extremely vulnerable. Petroleum found close to the Faroese area gives hope for deposits in the immediate area, which may provide a basis for sustained economic prosperity.

20% of Faroe Islands' national budget comes as economic aid from Denmark, which is about the same as 50% of Faroe Islands' total expense budget.

Since 2000, new information technology and business projects have been fostered in the Faroe Islands to attract new investment. While having one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, this should not necessarily be taken as a sign of a recovering economy, as many young students move to Denmark and other countries once they are finished with high school. This leaves a largely middle-aged and elderly population that may lack the skills and knowledge to fill newly developed positions on the Faroes.

The Faroes and the European Union

As explicitly asserted by both Rome treaties, the Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union. Moreover, 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 (although other EU nationals living there remain EU citizens).

The Faroes are not covered by the Schengen free movement agreement, but there are no border checks when travelling between the Faroes and any Schengen country.

The Faroes have been part of the Nordic Passport Union since 1966, and since 2001 there have been no border checks between the Nordic countries and the rest of the Schengen area as part of the Schengen agreement.

On 5 August 2009, the Faroese Løgting sent an application to the European Central Bank to introduce the Euro as the national currency, pending referendum

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