Brussels, 11/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is playing down the impact of the Icelanders' no-vote on compensating British and Dutch citizens in the Icesave affair and the effect of this result on the country's EU accession negotiations. According to the spokesperson for Commissioner Stefan Füle on Monday 11 April, paying back British and Dutch victims from the bankrupt Icelandic online bank is a “bilateral question”, which should be settled between the three countries concerned and does not affect accession negotiations. The spokeswoman explained that the Commission would therefore be continuing accession talks, launched in July 2010, “in compliance with the mandate granted by the Council”.
At the same time, the Commission will closely monitor the further developments in the framework of Iceland's existing commitments to fully respect its obligations deriving from membership in the European Economic Area, explained Commissioner Stefan Füle (enlargement) and Michel Barnier (internal market) in a joint declaration made on 11 April. The EFTA Surveillance Authority, which had already opened infringement proceedings against Reykjavik in the Icesave affair, remains the “competent authority” for examining Iceland's respect for the commitments made, assert Commissioners Füle and Barnier. They also explained that they were hoping for “a swift resolution”. EFTA procedures were suspended in an effort to give the different parties a chance to negotiate an amicable settlement, following the rejection in a referendum on Saturday by almost 60% of Icelandic voters who said no to the draft agreement, which planned to pay back the €3.9 billion debt to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. According to a spokesperson from the Dutch finance department, “we've gone beyond the stage of negotiations and legal proceedings at EFTA will resume”. The Icelandic minister for finance, Steingrimur Sigfusson, who negotiated the agreement, said that his government wanted a rapid solution and would be trying to cooperate with the EFTA Surveillance Authority.
Accession relations with Iceland are still at the preliminary “screening” stage (examining the compliance of Icelandic legislation with the Community acquis). So far, according to Commissioner Füle's spokesperson, only 11 of the 35 chapters have been examined. Once this very technical exercise has been completed, the real negotiations will be able to begin. Although London and The Hague have not yet brandished the threat of a veto, it appears unlikely that Iceland will be able to conclude its accession negotiations without a satisfactory solution being found in the Icesave affair. (H.B./transl.fl)