Hotel reservations in other destinations:
Politics
Politics
The government of the Faroes holds the executive power in local government affairs.
The head of the government is called the Løgmaður or prime minister in English.
Any other member of the cabinet is called a landsstýrismaður.
Today, elections are held in the municipalities, on a national level for the Løgting, and inside the Kingdom of Denmark for the Folketing.
For the Løgting elections there are seven electoral districts, each one comprising a sýsla, while Streymoy is divided into a northern and southern part (Tórshavn region).
The Faroes and Denmark
Faroe islands has been under control from Denmark since 1388, but in the Treaty of Kiel in 1814 terminated the Danish-Norwegian union.
Norway came under the rule of the King of Sweden, but the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland remained as possessions of Denmark.
Subsequently, the Løgting was abolished 1816, and the Faroe Islands were to be governed as a regular Danish amt, with the Amtmand as its head of government.
In 1851 the Løgting was resurrected, but served mainly as an advisory power until 1948.
At the end of the Second World War a portion of the population favoured independence from Denmark, and on September 14, 1946 a public election was held on the question of secession.
It is not considered a referendum, as the parliament was not bound to follow the decision of the vote.
This was the first time that the Faroese people were asked if they favoured independence or if they wanted to continue as a part of the Danish kingdom.
The outcome of the vote produced a small majority in favour of secession, but the coalition in parliament could not reach a resolution on how this election should be interpreted and implemented, and because of these irresolvable differences the coalition fell apart.
A parliamentary election was held just a few months later, in which the political parties that favoured staying in the Danish kingdom increased their share of the vote and formed a coalition.
Based on this increased share of the votes, they chose to reject secession.
Instead, a compromise was made and the Folketing passed a home-rule law, which came into effect in 1948.
The Faroe Islands' status as a Danish amt was brought to an end with the home-rule law; the Faroe Islands were given a high degree of self-governance, supported by a substantial annual subsidy from Denmark.
The islanders are about evenly split between those favouring independence and those who prefer to continue as a part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Within both camps there is, however, a wide range of opinions.
Of those who favour independence, some are in favour of an immediate unilateral declaration.
Others see it as something to be attained gradually and with the full consent of the Danish government and the Danish nation.
In the unionist camp there are also many who foresee and welcome a gradual increase in autonomy even as strong ties to Denmark are maintained.
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 (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 since the Faroes are part of the Nordic Passport Union since 1966 and since 2001 there are no border checks between the Nordic and the rest of the Schengen area as part of the Schengen agreement.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
Did you find it useful?
Book now, pay in the hotel!
|
|
★ The 5 best hotels in Faroe Islands
Hotels by type
Faroe Islands map
About Faroe Islands
History
Politics
Regions and municipalities
Geography
Economy
Transportation
Demographics
Culture
Public holidays
Climate
Flora
Fauna
Natural history and biology
User reviews about Faroe Islands
|
Member of the 4K.com™ network. Authoritative sites about hotels around the world.
