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 Iceland |  United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Iceland, London | Embassy of the United Kingdom, Reykjavík |
| Envoy | |
| Ambassador Sturla Sigurjónsson | Ambassador Bryony Mathew |
Icelandic–British relations are foreign relations betweenIceland and theUnited Kingdom.
Before independence, Iceland had been an independent part of theKingdom of Denmark since 1918. Fearing anAxis move against Iceland following theNazi occupation of Denmark, British forceslanded on Iceland in 1940. On 17 June 1944, 200 days after the 25-yearDanish–Icelandic Act of Union had expired and following a referendum, Iceland was declared an independentrepublic with this being recognised byLondon as well as theKing of Denmark.
From Iceland's independence until the mid-1970s, bilateral relations were difficult due to the 'Cod Wars' (a series of disputes over fishing rights in the 1950s and 1970s). Since then relations have improved, mainly because both countries have common interests includingfree trade,defence,environmental protection andinternational peace. Both countries are members ofNATO[1] andJoint Expeditionary Force.[2]
QueenElizabeth II of the United Kingdom paid astate visit to Iceland in June 1990.[3] In October 2015,David Cameron became the firstPrime Minister of the United Kingdom to officially visit Iceland (to attend theNorthern Future Forum) since it became a republic in 1944. The last United Kingdom Prime Minister to visit the territory had beenWinston Churchill, in August 1941.[4]
The United Kingdom has an embassy inReykjavík. Iceland has an embassy inLondon and seventeen honorary consulates in:Aberdeen,Birmingham,Cardiff,Dover,East Riding of Yorkshire,Edinburgh,Fleetwood,Glasgow,Grimsby,Guernsey,Jersey (in theChannel Islands),Lerwick,Liverpool,Manchester,Newcastle-upon-Tyne,Northern Ireland, andYork.[5]
During theSecond World War in 1940 following thefall of Denmark the United Kingdom launched theInvasion of Iceland and occupied Icelandic territory until 1941 when defence responsibility was transferred to theUnited States of America.
TheCod Wars were a series of confrontations in the 1950s and 1970s between the United Kingdom and Iceland regarding fishing rights in the North Atlantic. In February 1976 Iceland severed diplomatic ties with Britain, an unprecedented action between two NATO members, which were restored in the spring of that year.[6][7]
Rockall was claimed by a number of nations, including Iceland and the United Kingdom, as well as by theRepublic of Ireland andDenmark (on behalf of theFaroe Islands). The United Kingdom and Ireland reached a power sharing agreement over Rockall, but as yet no other agreements exist with Iceland or Denmark.
The Icesave dispute was a dispute between Iceland and the United Kingdom,Germany and the Netherlands over frozen assets held by collapsed Icelandic banks which operated in the above countries, causing much political tension.
During the 2000s,mackerel migration andspawning took place in bothFaroese and Icelandic waters and since then the quota Iceland has allocated to itself has risen to a 130,000-ton quota. This has led to tensions between the Icelandic government and those of the United Kingdom, Norway and Ireland. The European Union and Norway awarded themselves 90% of theTAC in 2011, despite Icelandic and Faroese objections. Scientific investigations concluded that the TAC of mackerel should be 646,000 tons, of which the EU and Norway awarded themselves 583,882 tons, leaving only 62,118 tons for the Faroe Islands and Iceland. This debate has led to speculation of a future cod war.[8]
TheEmbassy of Iceland in London is located on Hans Street inKensington. TheBritish Embassy in Reykjavík is located on Laufásvegur street in theMiðborg district.
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