Iceland – United Kingdom relations
Encyclopedia
Icelandic–British relations are foreign relations between Iceland
and the United Kingdom
.
Iceland was a Danish possession until the 1940s. Fearing an Axis move against Iceland following the Nazi Occupation of Denmark
, British forces landed on Iceland in 1940
, despite the protests of the Icelandic government, and remained there until 1941 (when United States forces replaced the British). In 1944, Iceland declared its independence, and was recognized by London.
Since Iceland’s independence until the mid 1970s
, bilateral relations were difficult due to the 'Cod Wars' (a series of disputes over fishing rights in the 1950s and 1970s). Since then relations are much better, mainly because both countries have common interests including free trade, defence, environmental protection and international peace. Both countries are members of NATO and the European Economic Area
.
HM
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
paid a state visit
to Iceland in June 1990.
The United Kingdom has an embassy in Reykjavik
. Iceland has an embassy in London
and 17 honorary consulates in: Aberdeen
, Birmingham
, Cardiff
, Dover
, East Riding of Yorkshire
, Edinburgh
, Fleetwood
, Glasgow
, Grimsby
, Guernsey
, Jersey
(in the Channel Islands
), Lerwick
, Liverpool
, Manchester
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northern Ireland
, and York
.
and Norway
as well as Iceland. This prompted a series of confrontations between the Icelandic Coast Guard
and the Royal Navy
.
and Denmark
(on behalf of the Faroe Islands
). The United Kingdom and Ireland reached a power sharing agreement over Rockall, but as of yet no other agreements exist with Iceland or Denmark.
and the Netherlands over frozen assets held by collapsed Icelandic banks which operated in the above countries, causing much political tension.
have dramatically increased their quotas for mackerel
. Previously (before 2006) they had landed practically no mackerel; Iceland has now allocated itself a 130,000-tonne quota. This is a dramatic increase and could effect the balance of the currently sustainable fish stock. Conservative MEP
Struan Stevenson
said Iceland and the Faroe Islands were "acting just like their Viking ancestors" by "plundering" stocks. It is feared this could turn into another cod war. The conflict led to a tense stand off at the port of Peterhead, when Scottish fishermen blockaded a Faroese trawler - preventing it from landing its £400,000 catch. Denmark
is also a stakeholder opposed to the Icelandic/Faeroese quotas and has passed legislation to stop Icelandic landings at its ports and is considering tighter sanctions. Furthermore this is expected to affect Iceland's entry into the EU and could bring European Union wide sanctions.
The EU and Norway awarded themselves 90% of the TAC in 2011, which the Faroese
and Icelandic
governments felt was unfair, due mackerel
migrating and spawning in Faroese and Icelandic waters, something which wasn't common before - possibly due to the oceans warming. According to scientific investigations, the TAC of mackerel was set to 646,000 tons in 2011 to remain sustainable, of which the EU and Norway awarded themselves 583,882 tons, leaving 62,118 tons to the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Iceland was a Danish possession until the 1940s. Fearing an Axis move against Iceland following the Nazi Occupation of Denmark
Occupation of Denmark
Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark began with Operation Weserübung on 9 April 1940, and lasted until German forces withdrew at the end of World War II following their surrender to the Allies on 5 May 1945. Contrary to the situation in other countries under German occupation, most Danish...
, British forces landed on Iceland in 1940
Invasion of Iceland
The invasion of Iceland, codenamed Operation Fork, was a British military operation conducted by the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines and a small Canadian task force during World War II....
, despite the protests of the Icelandic government, and remained there until 1941 (when United States forces replaced the British). In 1944, Iceland declared its independence, and was recognized by London.
Since Iceland’s independence until the mid 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
, bilateral relations were difficult due to the 'Cod Wars' (a series of disputes over fishing rights in the 1950s and 1970s). Since then relations are much better, mainly because both countries have common interests including free trade, defence, environmental protection and international peace. Both countries are members of NATO and the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
.
HM
Majesty
Majesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin maiestas, meaning "greatness".- Origin :Originally, during the Roman republic, the word maiestas was the legal term for the supreme status and dignity of the state, to be respected above everything else...
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
paid a state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
to Iceland in June 1990.
The United Kingdom has an embassy in Reykjavik
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
. Iceland has an embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and 17 honorary consulates in: Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Fleetwood
Fleetwood
Fleetwood is a town within the Wyre district of Lancashire, England, lying at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 26,840 people at the 2001 Census. It forms part of the Greater Blackpool conurbation. The town was the first planned community of the Victorian era...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
(in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
), Lerwick
Lerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, and York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
"Cod wars"
Iceland and the United Kingdom were involved in a dispute over territorial waters in the 1970s due to Iceland's extension of its waters into what the United Kingdom regarded as international waters, which had long been used for fishing by vessels from the United Kingdom, the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as well as Iceland. This prompted a series of confrontations between the Icelandic Coast Guard
Icelandic Coast Guard
The Icelandic Coast Guard is the service responsible for Iceland's coastal defense and maritime and aeronautical search and rescue. Origins of the Icelandic Coast Guard can be traced to 1859, when the corvette Ørnen started patrolling Icelandic waters...
and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Rockall
Rockall was claimed by a number of nations, including Iceland and the United Kingdom, as well as by the Republic of IrelandRepublic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(on behalf of the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands 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 self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
). The United Kingdom and Ireland reached a power sharing agreement over Rockall, but as of yet no other agreements exist with Iceland or Denmark.
Icesave dispute
The Icesave dispute was a dispute between Iceland and the United Kingdom, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Netherlands over frozen assets held by collapsed Icelandic banks which operated in the above countries, causing much political tension.
Mackerel Row
This fishing dispute is currently developing. Iceland and the Faroe IslandsFaroe Islands
The Faroe Islands 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 self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
have dramatically increased their quotas for mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
. Previously (before 2006) they had landed practically no mackerel; Iceland has now allocated itself a 130,000-tonne quota. This is a dramatic increase and could effect the balance of the currently sustainable fish stock. Conservative MEP
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Struan Stevenson
Struan Stevenson
Struan Stevenson is a Scottish politician. He is a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland and Vice Chair of the Committee on Fisheries, in addition to which, he is member of the Executive of the Scottish Conservative party.-Political career:Stevenson served his early political career as...
said Iceland and the Faroe Islands were "acting just like their Viking ancestors" by "plundering" stocks. It is feared this could turn into another cod war. The conflict led to a tense stand off at the port of Peterhead, when Scottish fishermen blockaded a Faroese trawler - preventing it from landing its £400,000 catch. Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
is also a stakeholder opposed to the Icelandic/Faeroese quotas and has passed legislation to stop Icelandic landings at its ports and is considering tighter sanctions. Furthermore this is expected to affect Iceland's entry into the EU and could bring European Union wide sanctions.
The EU and Norway awarded themselves 90% of the TAC in 2011, which the Faroese
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands 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 self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
and Icelandic
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
governments felt was unfair, due mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
migrating and spawning in Faroese and Icelandic waters, something which wasn't common before - possibly due to the oceans warming. According to scientific investigations, the TAC of mackerel was set to 646,000 tons in 2011 to remain sustainable, of which the EU and Norway awarded themselves 583,882 tons, leaving 62,118 tons to the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
Diplomatic missions
The Embassy of Iceland in London is located on Hans Street in KensingtonKensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
.