The European Commission will discuss Iceland’s membership application to the European Union later this month. If the application is given a positive review, it will be discussed during an EU summit in March.
Photo of Thingvellir by Páll Stefánsson.
This was confirmed by Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir after a meeting with President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and the European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn in Brussels today, mbl.is reports.
Sigurdardóttir said a range of topics had been discussed during the meeting and described it as positive.
“I discussed the Icesave case in detail and mentioned how many Icelanders believe that we are a victim of a faulty legislation and also that the debt burden is unequally distributed between the countries,” the PM stated.
“I explained what effect this would have on the nation’s payment ability and the overall influence on the households and the employment market,” the PM added.
“I think it was very good that we discussed these issues thoroughly. The purpose with this trip was to increase understanding of our position and I believe it was a success.”
Sigurdardóttir was asked whether Iceland will get more favorable terms on loans to repay the Icesave debt through the EU’s intervention. “I mentioned it during the meeting but no decision was made. We will have to see what happens.”
The International Monetary Fund’s postponement of the review of Iceland’s economic stabilization program was also discussed.
“I said during the meeting that it is unacceptable that the review of Iceland’s and the IMF’s economic stabilization program is being connected with an unrelated topic like Icesave, not to mention the EU membership, and Barroso assured me that the EU was not involved in this,” Sigurdardóttir concluded.
Click here to read more about Icesave and here to read more about Iceland and the EU.
