Iceland's intentions to join EU is a sign of EU's enduring attraction (Diana Wallis MEP)

Diana Wallis MEP <info@dianawallismep.org.uk>

Iceland's intentions to join EU is a sign of EU's enduring attraction

July 17, 2009 11:04 AM

Liberal Democrat MEP, Diana Wallis, has welcomed yesterday's vote in the Icelandic Parliament to submit an application for EU membership.

Diana reconfirmed this week as a Vice-President of the European Parliament, was one of the first to advocate Icelandic membership of the EU having been closely involved in relations between the EU and Iceland as Vice-President of the European Parliamentary delegation in the outgoing legislature. She said:

"I have long supported an application by EEA members like Iceland to join the EU. The recent financial crisis, paradoxically, has provided the strongest argument yet of the importance of safety in numbers and the attraction of belonging to a pole of stability like the eurozone. When global financial storms are sweeping across the planet it pays to be part of a broader currency area bound by solidarity and collective fiscal discipline.

"Although the vote in the Icelandic Parliament was close, and a referendum will still be needed on the outcome of negotiations with the EU, Iceland has been moving slowly towards such a change in policy in recent months and the weakening of the Icelandic krona was probably the factor that finally shifted the balance of the argument.

"Whilst all applications have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis and depend on the progress made by candidate countries in adjusting their national laws to the Community 'acquis communautaire', Iceland's membership of the EEA means that much of the alignment has already been done and should greatly speed up the accession process.

"The EU has repeated on several occasions that there should be no further enlargement of the Union until the Lisbon Treaty is in force. If the Irish approve the Treaty this autumn and the final signatures are added, the path should be open to Iceland joining by 2012."

"The Common Fisheries Policy is likely to be one of the toughest chapters to negotiate, yet the EU is already looking at a thorough revision of the CFP to ensure that it is more sustainable and decentralised. This should also facilitate EU entry for Icelanders when the referendum is held."