18/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - Iceland's chief negotiator for future membership talks, Stefan Hankur Johannesson, expects the European Council on 25-26 March to give its green light to opening talks in autumn this year. The Commission is expected to present a favourable opinion regarding Iceland's membership in February or early March. After this, it will be up to the member states to give Iceland official candidate status and to invite the country to accession talks. The decision by the 27 member states on the country's status is “very likely” to be taken in March, Johannesson states in Süddeutsche Zeitung on 18 January. “If they approve the request for membership, talks could begin this autumn” and come to a “rapid” conclusion, he said. He also believes that the Icesave affair is a “bilateral matter” (between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands) and should therefore not have an impact on the process for EU membership. (H.B./transl.jl)