Brussels, 27/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - After 11 months of technical preparations consisting of working together to compare Icelandic law with the EU acquis communautaire (an exercise called screening, which began at the end of July 2010), the 27 member states and Iceland have just got down to real accession talks. At the second ministerial conference on accession, in Brussels, on Monday 27 June, attended by Icelandic foreign minister Össur Skarphéðinsson, the first four chapters to be negotiated were opened: public procurement, information society and the media, science and research, and education and culture. Two of the four - science/research and education/culture - have already been closed. For Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, this immediate closure of two chapters gives an indication of the “high level of alignment” that Iceland, as a member of the European Economic Areas (EEA) and the Schengen area, has. Iceland has already adopted and implemented a great deal of EU law. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Füle suggested that no more than “a third” of the 35 chapters would need real negotiation, the remainder being directly or indirectly linked to obligations which Iceland already observes as a member of the EEA. This would speed up the accession process without allowing any “shortcuts”, the commissioner said. “Iceland is well prepared” so that the negotiations can be conducted swiftly, said Skarphéðinsson, describing this as a “historic day”. He proposed that “half” of the chapters be opened within the next six months, under the Polish Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, and this should include the two most problematic: fisheries and agriculture. The remaining chapters should then be opened during the first half of 2012. Füle backed the idea of “opening the difficult chapters earlier in the process” but did not state his view explicitly on the Icelandic suggestion of opening at least half the chapters by the end of this year (Ed: every decision to open and/or close a chapter requires unanimity among member states).
Fisheries. Skarphéðinsson left no one in any doubt that fisheries will be the most difficult issue to negotiate with the EU. “It will be very difficult but I'm confident that we can solve it”, he said. He also said he believed in the “EU's ability to meet the vital needs of the applicant countries and fisheries are vital for us”. “I'm sure the EU will show ingenuity and flexibility” so that a satisfactory agreement can be reached, he went on. He also brandished the threat of rejection of the accession treaty by the people of Iceland if the outcome of the fisheries talks did not live up to expectations. The Icelanders want to know the outcome of fisheries negotiations before giving their assent to their country's joining the EU, he said.
Referendum. Once negotiations have been completed, the people of Iceland will have the deciding vote in a referendum. For the moment, surveys suggest that there is still a majority against joining the EU. Historically, Icelandic public opinion has always been favourable to Europe, but the fallout from the bankruptcy of the state-owned bank Icesave - and the subsequent financial dispute with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands - wiped this support out over-night, the minister acknowledged. Skarphéðinsson, however, remains hopeful. Recent polls have shown slight recovery in support for the EU, he said. (H.B./transl.rt)