Tag: Iceland

More countries are likely to join the EU, but the process will extend to the end of the decade. At present, the EU lacks real strategic interests in incorporating most of the current candidates. Furthermore, political fragmentation within the EU tempers any desire to grow further, writes Stratfor.

The court of the European Free trade Area (EFTA) has ruled today (28 January) in favour of the Icelandic bank Icesave in a row over compensations to hundreds of thousands of savers from the UK and the Netherlands who lost their money when the bank collapsed in late 2008.

Iceland residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new Constitution written by a Constitutional Council of 25 citizens who gathered feedback through social media. 

Political pressure is growing on Iceland's Parliament to halt accession talks with the EU, or at least review the negotiation procedure, because of the European Commission's involvement in the legal dispute between Reykjavik and British and Dutch authorities over the Icesave case.

Iceland and Ukraine, two countries that aim at joining the EU and that both had their former leaders prosecuted for abuse of authority, seem to be treated in a completely different way, writes Kost Bondarenko of the Institute of Ukrainian Politics.

There are many good things that you can say about the EU, but the common fisheries policies has not been successful in fulfilling its objective, the Ambassador of Iceland to the EU, Mr. Thorir Ibsen told EurActiv. He said there was "nothing wrong" that Iceland, an EU candidate, would help this reform, as it has "more experience in this field than the EU".

Iceland has opened its doors to Bulgarian and Romanian workers, giving them the same rights of free movement and employment that other EU citizens have in the European Economic Area.

Iceland started EU accession negotiations yesterday (27 June), opening four chapters and immediately closing two of them in a turn of events hailed as "something new" in the EU's history. All negotiating chapters are expected to be opened within a year, announced the country's foreign minister, Oessur Skarphedinsson.

Britain and the Netherlands plan to sue EU candidate Iceland in a potentially drawn-out legal battle to recover $5 billion (3.46 billion euro) lost in a bank crash after Icelandic voters rejected a plan to repay the money.

By making a success of further enlargement, as well as improving its public perception, the EU will be able to better address the many other challenges which it faces, argues the European Commission's enlargement strategy for 2010-2011, unveiled yesterday (9 November).

Two thirds of Icelanders are in favour of continuing European Union membership talks, according to a poll published on Tuesday, representing a rebound since June when the opposite was almost the case.

On a visit to Turkey yesterday (27 July), UK Prime Minister David Cameron criticised those who are putting the brakes on Turkey's EU membership talks, highlighting a sharp contrast with Iceland, which started talks on the same day just one year after submitting its bid. EurActiv Turkey contributed to this article.

The European Parliament has welcomed the prospect of Iceland joining the EU in the near future but also called on the country to cease all whaling as a prerequisite, in a resolution adopted on Wednesday (7 July).

At their summit on 17 June, EU leaders will recommend opening accession negotiations with Iceland, read draft Council conclusions obtained by EurActiv.

When Kolbrún Eydís Ottósdóttir's employer abandoned Iceland in 2006, she teamed up with colleagues to start her own health technology business. Despite the economic meltdown, their company continues to thrive and has enjoyed strong export growth thanks to Iceland's improved competitiveness, she told EurActiv in an interview.

The European Commission yesterday (27 April) proposed a number of measures to address the ash cloud crisis, including temporary derogations for night flights and deferral of charge payments for airlines. Brussels gave its green light to state aid for the air sector, whose crisis bill is estimated to cost between €1.5 and 2.5 billion.

A special commission put in place in Iceland to investigate the causes of the banking collapse that hit the country one and a half years ago exposed "extreme negligence" on the part of the former conservative prime minister and the former central bank governor.

The Netherlands will not block the start of Iceland's accession talks with the European Union despite an ongoing dispute over repayment of lost bank savings, Dutch agency ANP quoted the Dutch foreign minister as saying on 18 March.

The spectacular rejection by Icelandic voters of an 'Icesave' accord gives Iceland a resounding mandate to push for better terms in settling €3.9 billion in losses to Britain and the Netherlands.

Iceland yesterday (24 February) took an important step towards EU accession, as the European Commission officially recommended opening membership talks with the island country.

The European Commission will recommend next week that the European Union begins accession talks with Iceland, an EU official said yesterday (16 February), launching a process that Reykjavik hopes will lead to EU membership by 2012.

The elusiveness of the visit which Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir paid to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso yesterday (4 February) hints at the precariousness of her government at home and abroad, commentators told EurActiv.

Iceland's president rejected a bill to repay Britain and the Netherlands more than $5 billion their savers lost when Icelandic banks collapsed, forcing a referendum on the issue. The move threatens vital economic aid and the country's EU accession bid.

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the built-in procedures for picking and confirming the members of the new college of commissioners are de facto delaying the EU's response to Iceland's membership bid, according to a December 2009 Reuters report.