The foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, is in the Faroe Islands today for the first time in his tenure to strengthen bonds with the island nation as the EU herring sanctions come to an end.
Lidegaard will meet with the Faroese prime minister, Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen, and the foreign affairs committee of the Faroese parliament to discuss the end of the conflict between the island nation and the EU concerning Atlantic-Scandinavian herring.
“I’m arriving in the Faroe Islands during the week in which the EU will end its trade sanctions,” Lidegaard said in a press release.
“I am immensely pleased that the conflict is over and with the co-operation that has existed between Denmark and the Faroe Islands in the case.”
READ MORE: EU imposes sanctions on Faroe Islands
EU harbours open
The end of the year-long sanctions on Wednesday means that Faroese herring fishermen can once again dock in the harbours of EU countries, including Denmark. The Faroese are permitted to catch 40,000 tonnes of herring over the rest of 2014, although the agreement is subject to negotiation this autumn.
The conflict flared up last year after the EU accused the Faroese herring fishing industry of being unsustainable.
