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Being part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the foreign relations of Greenland are handled in cooperation between the government of Denmark and the government of Greenland.
Unlike Denmark proper, Greenland is not part of the European Union (EU). The country's status was changed to an Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) associated with the EU, a dependent territory that has a special relationship with a member state of the EU. However, Greenland remains a full member of the Council of Europe and NATO.
With the Kingdom of Denmark having the responsibility for Greenland's international affairs, other countries often do not have direct diplomatic representation in Greenland—their embassies or consulates in Denmark are responsible for their relations with Greenland and their citizens in Greenland. Greenland is represented internationally by both the Greenland Representations and the embassies and consulates of Denmark. Further Greenland participates in the parliamentary Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers, and organisations as the West Nordic Council and the EU-based Overseas Countries and Territories Association, the latter being former colonies of the EU (dependent countries/territories).
The United States reopened its consulate in Nuuk, closed in 1953, in June 2020. [1]
The Premier of Greenland is unable to speak to a foreign leader without a Danish ambassador present. [2] Greenland has representative offices in several countries and otherwise is represented by embassies of Denmark worldwide. The Self-Government Act of 2009 allows the government of Greenland to open diplomatic offices, mainly within areas of full jurisdiction of Greenland, this being foreign trade, industry, fisheries, education, science, mining etc. Further Greenlandic diplomats, representing the government of Greenland, participates in areas of shared responsibilities between Denmark and Greenland, this mainly being observed in the defence cooperation between the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States. [3]
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes an embassy or high commission, which is the main office of a country's diplomatic representatives to another country; it is usually, but not necessarily, based in the receiving state's capital city. Consulates, on the other hand, are smaller diplomatic missions that are normally located in major cities of the receiving state. As well as being a diplomatic mission to the country in which it is situated, an embassy may also be a nonresident permanent mission to one or more other countries.
The politics of Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, function in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament Inatsisartut. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Greenland has full autonomy on most matters, except on policies and decisions affecting the region including negotiations with the devolved legislatures and the Folketing.
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. The council's official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, though it uses only the mutually intelligible Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish—as its working languages. These three comprise the first language of around 80% of the region's population and are learned as a second or foreign language by the remaining 20%.
Iceland took control of its foreign affairs in 1918 when it became a sovereign country, the Kingdom of Iceland, in a personal union with the King of Denmark. As a fully independent state, Iceland could have joined the League of Nations in 1920, but chose not to do so for cost reasons. It negotiated with Denmark to initially carry out most of its foreign relations, while maintaining full control. Denmark appointed a diplomatic envoy (Ambassador) to Iceland in 1919 and Iceland reciprocated in 1920, opening an embassy in Copenhagen. Iceland established its own Foreign Service in April 1940 when Denmark became occupied by Nazi Germany and ties between the two countries were severed. The Republic of Iceland was founded in 1944. The Icelandic foreign service grew slowly in the post-WWII period, but increased rapidly after the mid-1990s. Iceland's closest relations are with the Nordic states, the European Union and the United States. Iceland has been a member of the United Nations since 1946. Iceland was a founding member of the World Bank in 1946 and NATO in 1949. In terms of European integration, Iceland was a founding member of the OEEC in 1948 and the Nordic Council in 1952, it joined EFTA in 1970, was a founding member of the CSCE in 1973 and the EEA in 1992 and joined Schengen in 1996.
A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Under the Basic Law, Macau's diplomatic relations and defence are the responsibility of the central government of China. Except diplomatic relations and defence, nonetheless, Macau has retained considerable autonomy in all aspects, including economic and commercial relations, customs control.
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territory. It consists of metropolitan Denmark—the kingdom's territory in continental Europe and sometimes called "Denmark proper" —and the realm's two autonomous regions: the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The relationship between the three parts of the Kingdom is known as Rigsfællesskabet.
As of May 2024, there are 70 diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, of which 62 are consulates-general and 8 are officially recognised bodies in Hong Kong. As Hong Kong has the status of a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, some consuls-general in Hong Kong report directly to their respective foreign ministries, rather than to their Embassies in Beijing.
Diplomatic relations between Denmark and the United States of America began in 1783. Both countries are members of the Arctic Council, OECD, OSCE, NATO and the United Nations.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Greenland:
Icelandic–British relations are foreign relations between Iceland and the United Kingdom.
The Nordic countries are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden; the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland; and the autonomous region of Åland.
Denmark – Montenegro relations refers to the current and historical relations between Denmark and Montenegro. Denmark is represented in Montenegro through its embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, and have an honorary consulate in Podgorica. Montenegro is represented in Denmark through its embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe and NATO. Denmark is also an EU member and Montenegro is an EU candidate. Denmark recognized Montenegro on 15 June 2006 and diplomatic relations were established same day. Denmark assists Montenegro under the Neighborhood Programme. The assistance focuses on agricultural production. Both countries have signed an agreement about protection of investments.
The Arctic Policy of the Kingdom of Denmark defines the Kingdom's foreign relations and policies with other Arctic countries, and the Kingdom's strategy for the Arctic on issues occurring within the geographic boundaries of "the Arctic" or related to the Arctic or its peoples. In order to clearly understand the Danish geopolitical importance of the Arctic, it is necessary to mention Denmark's territorial claims in areas beyond its exclusive EEZ in areas around the Faroe Islands and north of Greenland covering parts of the North Pole, which is also claimed by Russia.
The Embassy of the United States to the Kingdom of Denmark is the diplomatic mission of the United States in Denmark. The building is located on Dag Hammarskjölds Allé, in Indre Østerbro, Copenhagen, and it was opened in May 1954. The embassy also oversees American interests in Greenland. On 10 June 2020, the United States reopened its consulate in Nuuk, Greenland.
The Joint Arctic Command is a direct Level II authority in the Danish Defence. Joint Arctic Command's primary mission in peacetime is to ensure Danish sovereignty by monitoring the area around the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The command also handles tasks such as fisheries inspection, search and rescue (SAR), patient transport and other tasks that support the civil society. In short, the Joint Arctic Command handles military tasks, coast guard duties and disaster response - all in one organisation.