Negotiations start, but many Icelanders doubt that membership is good for the country.
Iceland has begun negotiations to join the European Union amid lingering concerns that its people might turn down membership in a referendum at the end of the talks.
Össur Skarphéðinsson, Iceland’s foreign minister, was in Brussels today (27 June) to open talks on four of the 35 policy chapters into which accession negotiations are divided. Two of the four chapters – on science and research and on education and culture – were provisionally completed. Talks continue on the other two chapters, on public procurement and on information society and media.
Skarphéðinsson acknowledged that there was “no majority” in favour of EU membership in Iceland at present.
Today’s opening of membership talks marks the end of a process of screening, during which the European Commission analysed Iceland’s preparedness for implementing the body of EU law.
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Iceland is a member of the European Economic Area, which is an extension of the EU’s internal market to non-members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. This means that Iceland is already applying EU law in many areas. It is also a member of the EU’s Schengen area of borderless travel.
“This accession conference marks an important step forward in Iceland’s accession process,” Štefan Füle, the European commissioner for enlargement and the neighbourhood policy, said.
Tough talks are expected on fisheries and agriculture, mainstays of Iceland’s economy. Skarphéðinsson said that his centre-left government was hoping that all chapters would be opened over the next 12 months.
The government faces a general election early in 2013, and has to call a referendum on joining the EU at the end of the talks.
Iceland applied to join the EU in July 2009. EU member states agreed in June last year to open membership talks.