Brussels, 12/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 12 September, Iceland's Foreign Affairs Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson announced the suspension of accession negotiations with the European Union.
“We have dissolved the team and negotiating groups, and no further summit will take place. The EU has decided that there will be no further funding as part of the pre-accession aid instrument” [€5.8 million for 2013], Sveinsson stated during a speech to the Icelandic parliament. “The government is in accord on this issue. The process has been suspended, nothing has been closed, and we want to improve our communication and strengthen our links with the EU without belonging to it”, Sveinsson added.
On 23 August, Peter Stano, the spokesperson for Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle, said that the EU was waiting for clarification on the validity of Iceland's accession request after assessment by the Icelandic parliament in the autumn (see EUROPE 10906). The accession negotiations were suspended in January at the time of the Icelandic parliamentary election campaigning. The elections were won by parties opposed to EU accession. Although the negotiations progressed quickly, the EU and Iceland are still in conflict over fishing - in particular “the mackerel war”. (CG/transl.fl)