Iceland Announces Dropping Bid to Join EU

[Ronin Truth]

Iceland Announces Dropping Bid to Join EU

By Russia Today

RT.com

March 16, 2015

Iceland has dropped its bid to join the European Union, the Foreign Ministry in Reykjavik says. The announcement follows pledges made by the country’s euro-skeptic government since winning the 2013 election.

Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, the Icelandic foreign minister, said in a statement that he had informed Latvia, the current EU president, and the European Commission that his center-right government had decided to withdraw its application, which was submitted six years ago.

“The EU and Iceland have discussed the country’s position on the status of its bid to join the European Union,” the statement reads. “The government does not intend to resume preparing for EU membership.”

Prime Minister Sigmundur Davið Gunnlaugsson talked of formally withdrawing the bid in January.

“Participating in EU talks isn’t really valid anymore,” PM Gunnlaugsson told Reykjavík Grapevine at the time. “Both due to changes in the European Union and because it’s not in line with the policies of the ruling government to accept everything that the last government was willing to accept. Because of that, we’re back at square one.”

Iceland applied for EU membership in July 2009, at a time when the global economic crisis was unraveling. By February 2010, the European Commission produced a favorable answer and accession negotiations began in July the same year.

The negotiations came to a stalemate in April 2013, when the election in Iceland was won by the centrist Progress Party, and the conservative Independence Party. When Progress Party’s Gunnlaugsson became prime minister, he froze negotiations with the EU in May 2013.

One of the major issues stalling an agreement was fish catch quotas insisted on by Brussels, something the Icelandic Fishing industry would never have agreed to.

The small island nation, with a population of 325,000, is and will still be a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the Schengen area and is an EU partner promoting cooperation in northern Europe – meaning it gets many of the advantages of being a full member without many of the negative aspects of centralized EU laws and planning.

If in the future Iceland decides to join the EU, this will be decided only by a referendum, the government said. Iceland will continue to comply with the terms of the EEA and to cooperate with the EU as it has done previously.

Reprinted from Russia Today.

The Best of Russia Today


Copyright © 2015 Russia Today

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2015/03/russia-today/iceland-rejects-the-eu/

Copyright © 2015 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are provided.

 

[Uriah]

Good.

 

[Ronin Truth]

Good.

Now if we could just get the US to do the same thing with the NAU.

 

[donnay]

Now if we could just get the US to do the same thing with the NAU.

Agreed. I wish our politicians had one-tenth of the courage Iceland politicians have.

 

[Ronin Truth]

Agreed. I wish our politicians had one-tenth of the courage Iceland politicians have.

With a population of only 325,000 it may be easier to form somewhat of a consensus and to explain and achieve Icelandic courage.

 

[donnay]

With a population of only 325,000 it may be easier to form somewhat of a consensus and to explain and achieve Icelandic courage.

Good point. I love how they told the IMF to pound sand.

 

[Paul Or Nothing II]

With a population of only 325,000 it may be easier to form somewhat of a consensus and to explain and achieve Icelandic courage.

I highly doubt lower population has anything directly to do with forming somewhat of a consensus, I think a homogeneity in values, goals & ideals is more important in that respect; & that homogeneity might be present amongst the Icelandic people because of their geographic isolation from the rest of the world.

 

[Ronin Truth]

I highly doubt lower population has anything directly to do with forming somewhat of a consensus, I think a homogeneity in values, goals & ideals is more important in that respect; & that homogeneity might be present amongst the Icelandic people because of their geographic isolation from the rest of the world.

I just figured that it's probably easier to approach agreement with 325,000 than with 325,000,000.

Homogeneity, etc., I'm sure helps out a bunch too.

 

[alucard13mm]

I highly doubt lower population has anything directly to do with forming somewhat of a consensus, I think a homogeneity in values, goals & ideals is more important in that respect; & that homogeneity might be present amongst the Icelandic people because of their geographic isolation from the rest of the world.

Homogenous population means one less thing to bicker about. These days we bicker about skin color, religion, nationality, sexuality, social standing, gender, dick size and pretty much everything that makes us different (not that being diff is bad).

IMF and EU has no excuses to bomb or invade iceland... thank god.

 

[Paul Or Nothing II]

Homogenous population means one less thing to bicker about. These days we bicker about skin color, religion, nationality, sexuality, social standing, gender, dick size and pretty much everything that makes us different (not that being diff is bad).

IMF and EU has no excuses to bomb or invade iceland... thank god.

Exactly the point!