External relations of Guernsey both islands retain their independence with regards to domestic affairs but internationally, the islands would be regarded as one state. A Guernsey-Jersey double taxation agreement was first signed in 1956. In 1998 Guernsey and Jersey electricity companies formed the Channel Islands Electricity Grid to operate and manage the submarine cables between Europe and the Channel Islands. Guernsey has formed part of the British–Irish Council since it was formed in 1999, as does Jersey. Meetings take place twice a year, in 2004, 2010 and 2014 the meetings have taken place in Guernsey. Its stated aim is to "promote the harmonious and
History of Guernsey in Guernsey exported all over the world. It was normal for the island to deport vagrants, criminals and anyone who had fallen on hard times who were not "local". Between 1842 and 1880 10,000 people were deported. This included local born widows and local born children of "foreign" men and people who, whilst not born in Guernsey, had resided in Guernsey for over 50 years. This reduced the burden on the parish requirement to look after their poor and discouraged France, England and Ireland encouraging their poor to emigrate to Guernsey. At the end of the century, long resisted, the