Icelandic-Portuguese relations

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Icelandic-Portuguese relations
Icelandic-Portuguese Relations (Europe)
Portugal
Portugal
Iceland
Iceland
PortugalPortugal IcelandIceland
Portugal Iceland

The Icelandic-Portuguese relations include intergovernmental relations between Iceland and Portugal . The countries have had direct diplomatic relations since at least 1957.

Traditionally the most important link is the Icelandic export of fish to Portugal, in particular of stockfish , which is rarely eaten in Iceland, but as bacalhau is an essential part of Portuguese cuisine (Portugal alone consumes 30% of world production and is therefore the largest consumer of stockfish). During a visit to Portugal in 2015, the Icelandic Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson said that trade with Portugal was of vital importance for Iceland. Fishing is an Icelandic tradition and should rebuild and grow the country's economy. Stockfish fishing is the most important part of the Icelandic economy and Portugal is one of its most important trading partners. In Iceland, Portugal, which is otherwise hardly present, is mainly associated with stockfish, in addition to its status as a sunny travel destination.

Overall, the main points of contact between the countries are bilateral trade and scientific exchange, especially in the field of marine biology and tourism. They also work together in a number of multilateral organizations. They are members of NATO and the OECD , both of which they co-founded, and belong among other things. a. the Council of Europe , the Schengen Area , the OSCE and the various UN organizations.

history

Hallgerður Fróðadóttir 1949, the first Icelandic diesel trawler : Since the 1920s, Iceland has been increasingly exporting stockfish to Portugal

Since the 1920s, Iceland has developed as the most important supplier of clipfish for Portugal, which before that had mainly obtained its Bacalhau from the North Atlantic between Norway and Newfoundland and caught it by the Portuguese Nordland fishing fleet. The reason was the urge on the Icelandic side to become less dependent on their hitherto exclusive exports to Spain and Italy.

In 1957 , José do Sacramento Brasil Rodrigues , Portugal's ambassador to Norway, was the first Portuguese representative in Reykjavík to be accredited . After that, Portugal did not open its own embassy in Iceland, which is still part of the administrative district of the Portuguese embassy in Norway. Iceland did not open its own representation in Portugal either, which is served by the Icelandic embassy in Great Britain.

In 1960 Iceland and Portugal were founding members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). When Portugal joined the EU in 1986, Portugal left EFTA.

Iceland, which with its financial crisis got into the financial crisis from 2007 before Portugal , repeatedly attracted the attention of the Portuguese media because as a non-EU member it dealt with bank claims and public finances in a completely different way than that which was badly affected by the subsequent euro crisis Portugal and its austerity policy, which is highly controversial in its own country . The Icelandic way of reflecting on its own traditions and very own economic sectors was seen as promising and recommended for imitation. In the opposite direction, the Portuguese support and training program for educationally disadvantaged young people, developed since the late 1970s, received Icelandic attention and is to be adapted and also introduced there.

migration

658 Portuguese citizens live in Iceland, 636 of them were born in Portugal (as of 2016). The total of their remittances was € 620,000 in 2017 ( 2016 : 450,000; 2015 : 430,000; 2014 : 580,000; 2010 : 130,000; 2005 : 220,000; 2000 : 160,000).

66 Icelandic citizens are registered in Portugal, 32 of them in the Algarve and 15 in the Aveiro district (as of 2016). In 2017 they transferred a sum of 110,000 euros to Iceland ( 2016 : 140,000; 2015 : 90,000; 2014 : 80,000; 2010 : 10,000; 2005 : 20,000; 2000 : 10,000).

Town twinning

There are currently two bilateral city ​​partnerships (as of 2016), resulting from the close business relationships in the traditional stockfish export to Portugal:

The Icelandic Consulate in Porto, in the historic Ribeira district on the banks of the Douro

diplomacy

Portugal does not have its own embassy in Iceland, the country belongs to the administrative district of the Portuguese embassy in Norway. There is a Portuguese honorary consulate in the Icelandic capital Reykjavík .

Iceland also does not have its own representation in the Portuguese capital Lisbon; the Icelandic embassy in the British capital London is responsible . Icelandic honorary consulates have been set up in Gafanha da Nazaré near Aveiro , in Porto and in the capital Lisbon .

economy

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP does not have a branch in Iceland, the AICEP office at the Portuguese Embassy in Oslo is responsible.

The fishing port of Reykjavík: While antibiotics, with a share of 35.4%, were Portugal's most important single export good to Iceland, fish have determined Icelandic exports to Portugal, as it has for decades, with 57.7% (2016 figures)

176 Portuguese companies export to Iceland (as of 2016), u. a. from the food and beverage, renewable energies, vehicles, IT and building materials industries. Traditionally, however, the most important industry is the Portuguese import of stockfish from Iceland. Around 30 Portuguese companies are active in the business, including Riberalves , which was founded in 1985 and is now the market leader with a market share of around 25% and which accounts for 50% of Icelandic stockfish exports to Portugal (as of 2015).

In return, Icelandic companies are also active in Portugal. a. from the renewable energies, timber industry, tourism, IT and trade sectors, again to mention the export of stockfish to Portugal. In 2011 the first Iceland supermarket opened in the Guia shopping center near Albufeira in the Algarve, with more to follow. The supermarket chain, however, is British capital.

Bilateral trade

In 2016, Portugal exported goods and services worth 25.0 million euros to Iceland ( 2015 : 19.9 million; 2014 : 17.8 million; 2013 : 17.9 million; 2012 : 13.9 million .), with a proportion of 35.8% chemical and pharmaceutical products, 17.5% vehicles and vehicle parts, 10.7% clothing, 8.2% metal goods and 8.1% textiles and fabrics.

During the same period, Iceland delivered goods and services worth EUR 12.2 million to Portugal ( 2015 : 11.5 million; 2014 : 10.7 million; 2013 : 17.7 million; 2012 : 20.2 million .). In terms of goods, 75.5% were agricultural products (especially fish), 13.8% chemical-pharmaceutical products, 8.8% metal goods, 1.4% hides and leather and 0.1% food.

This made Iceland the 88th place for the Portuguese foreign trade in goods and the 102nd place for the supplier. In Iceland's foreign trade in goods, Portugal ranked 14th among buyers and 40th among suppliers.

tourism

While the Iberian Peninsula is one of the most popular travel destinations for Icelanders, Iceland is not one of the most popular destinations for Portuguese tourists, but still enjoys the status of an alternative and more unusual destination, especially known for the northern lights .

With overnight spending of 6.6 million euros in 2016 ( 2015 : 5.2 million; 2014 : 3.8 million; 2013 : 3.1 million; 2012 : 3.3 million), Icelandic tourists represented 0 .05% of Portuguese tourism .

Tourists from Portugal played a minor role in Icelandic tourism in 2016. Portugal was not among the 20 most important sending countries for travelers to Iceland.

Sports

Team line-ups for the Iceland-Portugal match on June 14, 2016 at the Euro 2016

Soccer

Men

The Icelandic national soccer team and the Portuguese national team have met three times so far, for the first time on October 12, 2010. Portugal won the qualifying game for the Euro 2012 in Reykjavík 3-1. The Portuguese won a total of two encounters, once they were drawn (as of November 14, 2017).

Iceland was not represented at the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. Portugal was at the U-18 European Football Championship in 1997 in Iceland, where it was narrowly defeated by the French selection in the final.

Only occasionally do Icelandic players appear for Portuguese clubs, such as national player Helgi Valur Daníelsson , who has been under contract with Belenenses Lisbon since 2013 .

Women

The Icelandic and Portuguese women's national football teams have met eight times so far (as of the end of 2017), the first time on June 15, 1995 in Lamego, Portugal . The game ended 2-1 for the hosts. In total, the Icelanders won five games, the Portuguese won twice, and once they drew with an Icelandic win on penalties.

The Icelanders have participated in 14 tournaments at the Algarve Cup since 1996. At the Algarve Cup 2011 they achieved their best result to date with 2nd place there, and they also came third twice. The hosts, on the other hand, have not yet made it into the last four (as of 2017).

Portugal was not represented at the U-19 European Women's Football Championship in Iceland in 2007 .

badminton

At the Helvetia Cup 2003 in Portugal, the hosts finished fourth, Iceland finished sixth.

At the Helvetia Cup 2007 in Iceland, the hosts and Portugal met in Group 1. Iceland finished the tournament as the winner, Portugal finished fifth.

So far there has been neither an Icelandic success at Portugal International nor a Portuguese victory at Iceland International (as of 2015).

Web links

Commons : Icelandic-Portuguese Relations  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Overview of diplomatic relations with Iceland , diplomatic institute of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ a b c d Islândia: Na ilha do peixe de Inverno - "Iceland: On the island of winter fish" , article from July 5, 2015 in the Portuguese newspaper Público , accessed on February 23, 2018
  3. ↑ a b A vida é bacalhau. Como se pesca, salga e come o ouro branco islandês - “Life is Bacalhau. How to fish, salt and eat the white gold of Iceland ” , article from June 27, 2015 of the Portuguese business portal www.dinheirovivo.pt, accessed on February 23, 2018
  4. ↑ a b Pesca ajuda a Islândia a sair da crise e é o principal obstáculo à adesão à União Europeia - "Fishing helps Iceland out of the crisis and is a major obstacle to EU accession" , article of December 22, 2013 in the Portuguese newspaper Público , accessed on February 23, 2018
  5. ↑ Modelo português de educadores de rua replicado na Islândia - "Portuguese model of the 'trainers from the street' is being imitated in Iceland" , article dated December 6, 2017 on the Portuguese news portal www.noticiasaominuto.com, accessed on February 23, 2018
  6. ↑ Website on Icelandic-Portuguese migration (Tables A.1 and A.2) at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on February 24, 2018
  7. ↑ a b Website on Icelandic-Portuguese migration (Table A.6) at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on February 24, 2018
  8. ↑ Official Portuguese Aliens Statistics by District , Portuguese Aliens and Borders Authority SEF, accessed on February 23, 2018
  9. ↑ Overview of town twinning with Icelandic municipalities , website of the Portuguese Association of District Governments ANMP, accessed on February 24, 2018
  10. ↑ Overview of the consular contact details of Portugal in Iceland , website for travelers and Portuguese expatriates at the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on February 22, 2018
  11. ↑ Overview of diplomatic and consular contacts in Portugal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, accessed on February 23, 2018
  12. ↑ a b c d e Bilateral economic relations between Portugal and Iceland , Excel file retrieved from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP , accessed on February 22, 2018
  13. ↑ Iceland supermarkets ready to expand after debut store success , article from October 25, 2012 at www.theportugalnews.com, accessed on February 23, 2018
  14. ↑ a b Annual statistical report from June 2017 of the Icelandic Tourist Office (PDF available in English), accessed on February 23, 2018