EU Integration "Smashed" By Iceland Application Rethink

Iceland is shortly expected to withdraw its application to become a member state of the European Union.

The news follows comments by the Icelandic prime minister Sigmundur Davið Gunnlaugsson in a radio interview, that a resolution to formally withdraw the membership request will go before Iceland’s parliament.

This is the governments second attempt at a withdrawal resolution. The previous resolution sparked public protests and calls for a referendum on the issue.

Gunnlaugsson also indicated in the interview with Bylgjan, an Icelandic radio station, that steps towards removing capital controls put in place during the economic crisis would be made.

Iceland applied to become an EU member state in the wake of its financial crisis in July 2009. The European commission issued a favourable response to Iceland’s request in February 2010 and formal negotiations were initiated in July 2010.

"More and more people throughout Europe either no longer wish to join the EU or, as in Greece, to leave the euro currency all together." Nigel Frarage MEP

However, negotiations stalled following elections held in April 2013, which saw Gunnlaugsson's centrist Progress Party and the conservative Independence Party come to power.

Icelandic news service mbl.is quoted the prime minister as saying that accession negotiations are "at square one as all the work on it that had been carried out before was in fact obsolete ".

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https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/news/eu-integration-%CA%B9smashed%CA%B9-iceland-application-rethink