Foreign relations of Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein's foreign economic policy has been dominated by its customs union with Switzerland (and with Austria-Hungary until World War I). This union also led to its independent membership in EFTA in 1991. Unlike Switzerland however (where citizens rejected membership in a referendum), Liechtenstein is part of the European Economic Area.

Liechtenstein was admitted to the United Nations in 1990. It is also a member of most specialized organizations of the UN system, a prominent exception being UNESCO.

Liechtenstein has resorted two times to international dispute settlement by the International Court of Justice, in the "Nottebohm" case against Guatemala in the 1950s and in a case concerning art property of the Liechtenstein family against Germany in 2005. It lost however in both cases.

Liechtenstein maintains resident embassies in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Holy See, Switzerland and the United States, along with a number of missions to international organisations.

Liechtenstein is the only country in the world not to host any embassy. There are, however, a number of honorary consulates in the principality. Most of these are situated in the capital Vaduz, however, some are found in Schaan, Schellenberg and Triesen.

The country has also an international dispute with the Czech Republic and Slovakia concerning the estates of its royal family in those countries. Neither country extends diplomatic recognition to Liechtenstein, which caused difficulties at the time of the extension of the European Economic Area to the ten new member states during the expansion of the European Union. Fact|date=August 2008

Incidents involving the Swiss military

Switzerland has a relatively active military due to ongoing conscription. Several incidents have occurred during routine training:

In 1985, rockets fired by the Swiss army landed in Liechtenstein, causing a forest fire. Compensation was paid.

In March 2007, the country was subject to an "invasion" when 171 Swiss soldiers mistakenly entered its territory. However, the Liechtenstein authorities were alerted and the troops were returned to Swiss territory before they had traveled more than 2 km into the country, and the incident was disregarded by both sides. [cite news |last= |first= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6415531.stm|title=Swiss in Liechtenstein 'invasion' |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-03-03 |accessdate=2007-03-03] [fr icon http://www.courrierinternational.com/article.asp?obj_id=71448]

Membership in international organizations

CE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, IAEA, ICC, ICRM, IFRCS, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UNCTAD, UPU, WCL, WIPO, WTO

ee also

*Liechtenstein diplomatic missions
*List of diplomatic missions in Liechtenstein

References