Faroe Islands-EU relations are set to become more regular after Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen (løgmaður) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to hold periodic meetings aimed at strengthening cooperation. The agreement came during talks in Nuuk, Greenland, on Monday 7 September, although the Faroese government received no concrete commitments on its main demand: better access to the European market for processed seafood.
The meeting took place during von der Leyen’s visit to Greenland and was also attended by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. According to Faroese public broadcaster Kringvarp Føroya, Johannesen told the Commission President that the Faroe Islands are open to deeper cooperation with the EU in several areas.
The two sides agreed that regular meetings should now be used to develop that relationship. No timetable or specific format for the talks has yet been announced.
Faroe Islands-EU relations have a distinctive framework
The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, but they are not part of the European Union. When Denmark joined the European Economic Community in 1973, the Faroese authorities chose to remain outside, largely because of the importance of retaining control over fisheries policy.
Unlike Norway and Iceland, the Faroe Islands are also outside the European Economic Area. Their relationship with the EU is instead based on separate bilateral arrangements covering trade in goods, fisheries, and scientific and technological cooperation.
The European Commission describes the EU as the Faroe Islands’ largest trading partner. In 2025, the EU accounted for 41.1% of total Faroese trade in goods, while taking 27.7% of Faroese exports and providing 55.2% of imports.
The Faroese government has for several years sought a broader framework for cooperation beyond the existing sectoral agreements.
Processed seafood remains the main trade dispute
Trade in fish remains one of the most important unresolved issues in Faroe Islands-EU relations.
The existing free trade agreement gives most unprocessed and semi-processed Faroese seafood tariff-free access to the European market. The situation is less favourable for many processed and higher-value fish products, which can still face tariffs or require individual negotiations before receiving preferential treatment.
Johannesen raised the issue directly with von der Leyen in Nuuk, saying that the Faroe Islands still do not have sufficiently good market access for processed seafood.
He acknowledged after the meeting that changing the current arrangements would be more complicated than expanding political dialogue, because any improvement in market access would also require support among EU member states.
The Faroese government has long argued that the current system limits incentives to process more fish domestically and has called for broader liberalisation of seafood trade with the EU.
Regular talks, but no new concessions
The Nuuk meeting therefore produced a political commitment to maintain a more structured dialogue, rather than an immediate change to trade relations.
For Tórshavn, regular access to the European Commission could nevertheless provide another channel for pursuing closer ties with the EU at a time when Brussels is increasing its political and economic engagement across the Arctic and North Atlantic.
The Commission has not announced concessions on Faroese seafood, and the existing trade framework remains unchanged. The significance of the meeting will therefore depend on whether the new regular dialogue eventually leads to negotiations on market access or to broader forms of cooperation between the Faroe Islands and the EU.
