Political Pressure on the Faroe Islands to End Fishery Cooperation With Russia

The Faroe Islands' Minister for Culture, Foreign Affairs and Education Jenis av Rana ((Miðflokkurin, «Center») is in favor of ending fishery cooperation with Russia after the country's partial mobilization for the Ukraine war last Wednesday. This is reported by Sermitsiaq.

While the rest of the country's government hesitates, Rana's position is shared by the social democratic opposition party Javnaðarflokkurin. The opposition party Tjóðveldi is also in favor of ending the fishery cooperation, provided that it happens in cooperation with other countries in the North Atlantic.

The Faroe Islands are an autonomous archipelago under Denmark. Here, Russian fishing vessels can dock and reload their catch.

The fisheries agreement with Russia is due to be renegotiated before the new year as planned, says Minister for Fisheries Árni Skaale (conservative Fólkaflokkurin).

The agreement stipulates that the Faroese can fish cod in the Barents Sea, while Russians can fish pelagic fish, such as herring and mackerel, in Faroese waters. 

Two weeks ago, all the parties in the Swedish Parliament were invited to discuss its future, and afterward, it emerged that negotiations on next year's quota are still to be carried out. The parties have been called to a new meeting later this week.