Faroe Islands a reaction to the growing self-government and independence movements, Denmark finally granted the Faroe Islands home-rule with a high degree of local autonomy on 30 March 1948. In 1973 the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Economic Community (later absorbed into the European Union). The islands experienced considerable economic difficulties following the collapse of the fishing industry in the early 1990s, but have since made efforts to diversify the economy. Support for independence has grown and is the objective of the Republican Party. The Faroe Islands are an island group consisting of 18 major islands (and
Flora of the Faroe Islands from Tierra del Fuego to the Faroe Islands, making it the biggest "Nothofagus" population in Europe. Species from the Alaskan coastline and islands have also adapted well in the Faroe Islands, especially "Pinus contorta", "Picea sitchensis", "Salix alaxensis", "Populus trichocarpa" and "Alnus sinuata". The biggest Alaskan pine tree ("Pinus contorta") in Europe (in width, not in height), is to be found in the Selatrað plantation in the Faroe Islands. Generally, species from the oceanic climates of coastal Alaska, New Zealand, Tierra del Fuego and Tasmania are adapted to Faroe, while species from the more continental climates of Scandinavia and Europe