Brussels, 02/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - EU accession remains a serious option for Iceland, even if its new centre left government, led by Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir, (who took up her post on 1 February), is not planning to submit a request for accession in the immediate future. A spokesperson for the Icelandic government, Kristjan Kristjansson told EUROPE on 2 February that “so far, the new government has no plan to apply for membership but will have a thorough look at the issue”. The spokesman added that the question of EU accession is “not a matter of urgency” because the number one priority of the government is to combat the financial crisis and stabilise the economy. Mr Kristjansson affirmed that this did not mean that the European question will not be posed in the near future. On Monday, the new government announced early elections for 25 April. Kristjansson stated that, “it is very probable that EU accession will be one of the major subjects” in these elections because it will be up to the government elected in these elections to decide on whether to submit its accession candidacy to Brussels. In an effort to prepare this important decision, the government of Ms Sigurdardottir decided on Monday to set up a parliamentary committee to assess the advantages and disadvantages of joining the EU and producing a report by 15 April at the latest. This will be a delicate exercise because the coalition government is divided on the subject: the Social Democrats support accession but the left-green movement is strictly opposed to it. The opposition is also divided on the question of Europe. The majority of the independence party (right) of outgoing prime minister, Geir Haarde, is opposed to joining the EU while the progressive party (centre) until recently quite anti-European, now strongly favours the European option.
The European Commission now appears to support a possible request for accession from Reykjavik. In the Guardian on 30 January, Commissioner Olli Rehn said he anticipates fairly easy accession negotiations that could see Iceland joining the Union at the same time as Croatia (2010-11?). Mr Rehn asserted that “the EU prefers two countries joining at the same time rather than individually. If Iceland applies shortly and the negotiations are rapid, Croatia and Iceland could joint the EU in parallel”. The commissioner also affirmed that due to its economic and strategic importance, Iceland was, “one of the oldest democracies in the world and its strategy and economic positions would be an asset to the EU”. (H.B./transl.rh)