Brussels, 05/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - Iceland's prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, met with the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, in Brussels on 4 February 2010. She said that Iceland's accession talks with the EU would take no longer than one or two years because Iceland is already extremely connected with the EU. Judging by accession negotiations for other Scandinavian countries in the early 1990s, Iceland's negotiations would probably be completed within 24 months, Sigurdardottir told Reuters. She urged member states like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to not bring the Icesave compensation case into the accession talks. On 6 March, Iceland will be holding a referendum on whether to provide compensation for Dutch and British savers in the failed Icesave bank. The Commission is expected to publish its views on Iceland's application to join the EU later this month and if all goes according to plan, the March 2010 European Council may be able to give the go-ahead for the opening of talks. (H.B./transl.fl)