trade ties to
landlocked Ethiopia; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered
efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia

European Union
as a political union, the EU has no border disputes
with neighboring countries, but Estonia has no land boundary
agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime
boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime
disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set
up a Schengen area - consisting of 22 EU member states that have
signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or
"acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the
harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became
incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty
of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and
Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the
Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), and Switzerland
since 2008 bringing the total current membership to 25; the UK
(since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects
of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal
matters; nine of the 12 new member states that joined the EU since
2004 joined Schengen on 21 December 2007; of the three remaining EU
states, Cyprus is expected to join by 2009, while Romania and
Bulgaria continue to enhance their border security systems

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Argentina, which claims the
islands in its constitution and briefly occupied them by force in
1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; UK
continues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks

Faroe Islands
because anticipated offshore hydrocarbon resources
have not been realized, earlier Faroese proposals for full
independence have been deferred; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland
dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf
extends beyond 200 nm

Fiji
none

Finland
various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia
and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish
Government asserts no territorial demands

France
Madagascar claims the French territories of Bassas da India,
Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island; Comoros
claims Mayotte; Mauritius claims Tromelin Island; territorial
dispute between Suriname and