Czech Republic–Iceland relations

Czech-Iceland relations

Czech Republic	Iceland

Czech-Iceland relations are foreign relations between the Czech Republic and Iceland. The countries established diplomatic relations on 1 January 1993. Neither country has a resident embassy. The Czech Republic is represented in Iceland through an honorary consulate in Reykjavík. Iceland is represented in the Czech Republic through its embassy in Vienna (Austria) and through an honorary consulate in Prague. Both countries are full members of NATO, of the Council of Europe and of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Bilateral agreements

The following agreements are in place:^[1]

• Agreement on the settlement of Icelandic claims resulting from the renationalisation in the Czechoslovak Republic. An exchange of notes occurred on 21 November 1947)
• Agreement on the cultural cooperation. An exchange of notes occurred on 17 September 1979.
• Long-term trade agreement was signed in Reykjavík on 22 August 1985.
• Agreement on mutual abolishment of visas . An exchange of notes occurred on 12 July 1990 in Reykjavík and 13 July 1990 in Prague.
• Agreement between the EFTA states and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic was signed on 20 March 1992 in Prague. The agreement came into force on 1 January 1993. The Agreement was renamed by the Protocol on Succession signed in Geneva on 19 April 1994 to: The Agreement between the EFTA states and the Czech Republic. In connection with the EU membership the Czech Republic withdrew from the Agreement in November 2003.
• Agreement on tariff concessions by the import of agricultural products from the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic to Iceland. In the letter of 1 June 1992 Iceland announced the scope of granted one-sided concessions for the import of certain agricultural products from the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic to Iceland.
• The agreement on avoidance of double taxation between the Czech Republic and Iceland was signed on 18 January 2000 in Oslo, and it came into force on 1 January 2001.

State visits

The following meetings took place:^[2]

• In 1997 Czech premier Václav Klaus made his first trip to Iceland to meet with Davíð Oddsson to discuss NATO.^[3][4]
• In 1999 there was an official visit of the Czech President Václav Havel to Iceland and several working meetings with the Icelandic President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson where they discussed NATO expansion and the crisis in Kosovo.^[5]
• In 2005, state visit of the Czech President Václav Klaus to Iceland where he said he would support Iceland's entry into the European Union.^[6]

Other

• In 1963 a Czech spy was discovered and expelled from Iceland.^[7]
• In 2008 The Czech anti-monopoly office ÚOHS approved the Icelandic company Nordic Partners in their acquisition of the largest Czech canned food producer Hamé.^[8]

See also

• Foreign relations of the Czech Republic
• Foreign relations of Iceland

External links

• Icelandic embassy in Vienna (also accredited to the Czech Republic)

References

1. ^ "Bilateral Agreements with the Republic of Iceland". Czech Republic. http://www.mzv.cz/oslo/en/mutual_relations/bilateral_agreements_with_the_republic/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
2. ^ "Bilateral Relations with the Republic of Iceland". Czech Republic. http://www.mzv.cz/oslo/en/mutual_relations/bilateral_relations_with_the_republic_of/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
3. ^ "Czech premier to visit Iceland and Canada". ČTK. February 10, 1997. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F99F525C81DEEE4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
4. ^ "Czech and Icelandic premiers discuss NATO". ČTK. February 19, 1997. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F99F532396D6897&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
5. ^ "Havel warns against Kosovo-dominated NATO Summit". Radio Prague. http://archiv.radio.cz/nato/english42.html. Retrieved 2009-06-10. 
6. ^ "Czech Republic would welcome Iceland's EU entry". ČTK. August 23, 2005. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10C315B1E78AD550&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-06-10. "The Czech Republic would welcome it if Iceland joined the European Union," Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is on an official visit to Iceland, told CTK today after his meeting with Icelandic Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson. "We would definitely vote for it [Iceland's EU entry]," Klaus said.Iceland has not applied for EU membership yet, but it is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), comprising along..." 
7. ^ "Iceland Ousts Czech as Spy". United Press International in the New York Times. May 23, 1962. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70712FE345A177B93C1AB178ED85F468685F9. Retrieved 2009-06-11. "Iceland deported a Communist diplomat today for ... The diplomat was Vlastismil Stochl of the Czech legation ..." 
8. ^ "Czech regulator approves Iceland's Nordic Partners' buy of Czech canning co Hame". Thomson Financial News. March 27, 2008. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/03/27/afx4820424.html. Retrieved 2009-06-10.