EU membership makes no sense for Iceland: FM

LONDON

Iceland's Foreign Minister insisted that the country's interests continue to be best served outside the European Union, in an exclusive interview with The Anadolu Agency on Monday.

 But it is important that there are continuing strong relations and cooperation between Iceland, the EU and its Members States, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson told AA.

"We are equally convinced that our partnership with the EU and its Member States should be strong and robust, working in the single market and in many new fields such as energy, climate and Arctic matters," he said.

 Sveinsson said that "the European Economic Area has been a cornerstone of our relations with the EU as it introduces into Icelandic legislation EU law on a broad scale of issues. As an affluent island nation, rich in natural resources and highly dependent on external trade, Iceland needs flexibility."

Sveinsson said that Iceland made the decision to not seek EU membership, because it was time for the country to clarify a situation that had been unclear for too long.

  "We do not consider ourselves a candidate state, we have no intentions of resuming accession talks and our policy supersedes any commitments by the previous governments," Sveinsson said.

'Fishing and economy'

Sveinsson said that economic factors including the fishing industry were behind Iceland's decision to withdraw its EU bid. "The fishing industry is a main pillar of our economy," he explained. 

"The economy is certainly an important factor in the Government’s decision. Iceland’s economic situation is very different from the EU’s. Iceland experienced an unprecedented economic collapse in 2008. The economy and confidence is now growing and the outlook is positive," he said.

"Iceland has had tremendous success in administering its rich fishing grounds and, with a view to both sustainability and economic viability, the Icelandic fisheries' policy is probably the most successful in the world."

"It is perfectly well-known that, in spite of good intentions, the EU’s common fisheries policy has been mired with problems for decades. There is no logical reason why Iceland should compromise its considerable success in this field and pursue EU membership with a massive number of open questions on fisheries."

"Fishing is our core economic sector and it is deeply rooted in the Icelandic society and culture. The EU's Common Fisheries Policy is simply incompatible with Iceland's interests," he said.

Negotiations with the EU, which began in 2010, failed due to a conflict over the fishing industry. Fishing, which is the largest industry in Iceland, is regulated by the European Union for its members. The European Commission has issued complaints to Iceland about overfishing, last year, and has threatened economic sanctions.

'Turkey's EU membership bid'

Talking about Turkey's bid Sveinsson said, "Each and every country needs to assess and reassess its core interests and how to pursue these interests.  What is good for Iceland is not necessarily good for others. I can only recommend that Turkey openly and honestly assesses its interest in an EU context and come to a conclusion based on this."

 "Our decision is right for Iceland, but cannot be read as a model or indicator for other countries," Sveinsson said.

"I fully understand and appreciate that some countries see it in their fundamental interest to join the EU but don’t believe it is best for us. A quick glance at the map of Europe goes a long way in explaining why," he added.