Brussels, 23/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 24 February, the European Commission is expected to adopt its opinion on Iceland's accession application that was submitted in July 2009. It will come as no surprise that the Commission will deliver a positive opinion and will recommend to member states that they open accession talks with Iceland, which already applies three quarters of the acquis communautaire because it belongs to the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area (EEA). While Iceland is already well along the way towards EU membership, the Commission will stress in its opinion that it cannot expect special treatment or a shortcut to accession. “On the contrary, we will lay great stress on the fact that Iceland is an applicant country just like the others, and that is will have to go through exactly the same procedure as the other applicants. There will be no special treatment,” say well informed sources. The Commission will not make any suggestion as to the timetable to be followed and member states will have to agree unanimously on a date for opening negotiations. It has been suggested by some in the past that the European Council of 25-26 March might approve the opening of talks, but this now seems unlikely, especially as the Dutch government has just fallen and a caretaker government will not be able to make such a decision. (H.B./transl.rt)