Copenhagen, 10 January 2025
Is Faroese membership in its own name of the World Trade Organization WTO compatible with the Faroe Islands’ constitutional status? The Faroese Government and the Danish Government have agreed to submit this question to the so-called Section 6 Board.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Justice Aksel V. Johannesen have therefore today signed a joint request to the President of the Supreme Court to activate the Section 6 Board. According to the Home Rule Act, the Section 6 Board can decide on doubtful issues regarding the competence of the Faroese Home Rule in relation to the national authorities. This is the first time in the 76-year history of the Home Rule Act that the Section 6 Board has been activated.
“There is a Faroese desire for membership of the WTO in its own name. Politically, the Danish government shares the Faroese desire, and we therefore agree to ask the Board for a legal clarification of whether this is compatible with the Faroese constitutional status. This has never happened before in the 76-year history of the Home Rule Act. It is an important event, which is a good example of how we dare to break new ground together in cooperation in the realm. Equally and respectfully,” says Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
“WTO membership in our own name is crucial for the Faroe Islands and the Faroese economy. That is why it was a major and historic step when we decided at the parliamentary session in Aalborg in August to test the issue in the Section 6 Committee. Since this is new and untrodden land, we have spent the time since August organizing the work. I am very pleased that today, together, we have signed a request to the President of the Supreme Court, so that the Section 6 Committee can now formally begin its work. It is my clear expectation that the Committee will work quickly, and I look forward to a decision in the course of 2025,” says Attorney General Aksel V. Johannesen.
Source – Government of Denmark (Danish, e-translated)