User:August Rosenbaum/sandbox

The Faroe Islands is a small group of islands located between Iceland and Norway in the northern part of the Atlantic Sea and is inhabited by approximately 53,000 people. Whilst the Faroe Islands is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it contains a great deal of self-governance and have autonomy over important political sectors, such as Trade and Fishery. However, it is ultimately Denmark that determines the island's foreign and security policy. Further, Denmark is a part of the EU the Faroe Islands are not. Consequently, the collective stand of the EU to limit the trade between Russia and the member states does not include the Faroe Islands. Therefore, the Faroe Islands has continued its bilateral fishing agreement with Russia and still exports a great level of fish to Russia.

Bilateral agreement between the Faroe Islands and Russia

The trade agreement between the Faroe Islands and Russia is a bilateral agreement originally signed in 1977, allowing for the two countries to fish in each other's exclusive economic zones. The trade agreement is annually extended, most recently being extended on the 8th of December. The bilateral agreement helps both parties to access a broader range of fish stocks and give the two countries docking rights in each others harbours. This allows Russian vessels to be in close proximity to critical maritime infrastructure in what essentially is Danish territory, whilst the rest of the EU is in open conflict with Russia.

Faroese fish export

Another crucial part of the relationship between the two entities is regarding the Faroese export of fish to Russia. The fishing industry, notably salmon, of the Faroe Island is by far the island's greatest export good. In terms of total exports of goods and services from the Faroe Islands fish accounts for 80%. Notably, the total fishing industry accounts for 26% of the Faroese GDP. Evidently, the fishing industry is crucial for the economic development of the Faroe Islands.

Since the original bilateral agreement in 1977, Russia has evolved to become one of the Faroe Islands' foremost trading partners. Consequently, Faroese export to Russia accounts for 33% of the total faroese export revenue. Therefore, the export of fish to Russia is regarded as one of the cornerstones of the Faroese economy.

Development since the annexation of Crimea in 2014

In recent years, this trading relationship has evolved. The main good of export from the Faroe Islands to Russia is salmon. Salmon accounts for almost half of the Faroe Islands' export revenue and the export of Faroese salmon to Russia has after the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 risen dramatically. From September to December the year of 2014 the export of salmon totaled at $79 million which was 40% of the total salmon export by value. For comparison, in the same period (September-December) of 2013 the salmon export to Russia only accounted for 7% of the total salmon export by value.

Economical dependency

The Faroe Islands' heavy reliance on its fishing industry, coupled with Russia being its largest export destination has fostered a dependency that compels the islands to maintain a positive trading relationship despite political tensions between the EU countries and Russia. It is also notable that the Faroe Islands has increased its export and cooperation with Russia since 2014. This creates a serious dilemma for the Danish maritime security strategy. While Denmark and the rest of the EU is in open conflict with Russia, an important part of the Commonwealth of Denmark is getting increasingly dependent on trade with Russia.

Docking rights on the Faroe Islands

In addition to granting rights for Russian vessels to fish in Faroese waters, the bilateral agreement also allow Russian fishingships to dock in Faroese ports. In recent history, the fact that Russian ships can dock into Faroese ports has led to certain problems. Resultantly,  Russian fishing vessels in Faroese ports were found to harbour military equipment in more than 200 instances between 2015 and 2022

Security risks

Although the type of military equipment of the fishing ships has not been disclosed to the public, this poses several problems for both the Faroe Islands and Denmark. Firstly, the fact that Russian ships can dock into Faroese harbours creates a risk of surveillance on Faroese and Danish infrastructure. This risk is enhanced by the fact that some of the Russian vessels contain undisclosed military equipment. Notably, Denmark has a part of its navy placed on the Faroe Islands and also patrols the waters which could be an obvious object of surveillance.

In addition to this, the presence of Russian  military equipment on Russian fishing vessels poses a potential risk of escalating tensions between NATO countries and Russia, given that  Denmark and the Faroe Islands are NATO-members. As a consequence of the distribution of power and self-governance between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, it is Denmark that ensures the safety of the Faroe Islands and it is Danish naval vessels that patrol the Faroese waters. The fact that Danish and by extension, NATO naval vessels, patrol waters with Russian ships with military equipment can potentially be a source of further conflict between Russia and NATO and poses a risk towards the national security of Denmark and the Faroe Islands.

Cohesion and conflict in the Danish commonwealth

Even though the Russian presence in the Faroe Islands potentially threatens the Danish maritime security strategy, the country is limited in its possible political actions. Firstly, this is because the Faroe Islands has autonomy in political issues regarding trade. Denmark has traditionally not interfered in Faroese trade. However, Denmark has exclusive right to determine the Faroese security and foreign policy. Consequently, Denmark could potentially force the Faroe Islands to limit the docking rights of the Russian vessels and limit the Russian presence in the area if Denmark deemed the Faroese-Russian trade relationship to be a matter of security and foreign policy. This, however, could problematize the relationship between the Faroe Islands and Denmark.

Historical conflict in the Danish commonwealth

The Faroese identity, shaped by a historical legacy of Danish colonialism, imbues discussions surrounding their political status and aspirations for greater independence from Denmark with profound significance. It is therefore not a relationship without conflict between Denmark and the Faroe Islands. This latent conflict creates a dilemma for Denmark as the consequences of making the Faroe Islands cut ties with their biggest export market (Russia) can greatly inflict a negative public sentiment towards Denmark on the Faroe Islands and therefore pose a threat towards the cohesion of the Danish commonwealth.