The leaders of the coalition parties, the Social Democrats and the Left-Greens, met at the Althingi parliamentary building yesterday to continue their discussions on an official governmental agenda. The European Union remains the main matter of dispute.
Inside Iceland’s Althingi parliament. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
The two parties are taking their time since they have backing from the majority of MPs in parliament and it is unclear when parliament will reconvene.
According to Morgunbladid’s sources, the EU discussions revolve around at which stage the nation should hold a referendum to decide how to progress in the matter.
Allegedly, some of the members of the Left-Greens have proposed a double referendum, first on whether Iceland should launch membership discussions with the EU and, if approved, on whether Iceland should accept the agreement and join the union.
However, the Social Democrats have deemed a double referendum unnecessary. The party’s leadership considers an application for EU membership the most important emergency measure that can be undertaken to support the struggling Icelandic economy.
The Young Socialists, the youth movement within the Social Democrats, released a resolution to the media yesterday, stating that their party is obligated to ensure that Iceland applies for EU membership as soon as possible, Fréttabladid reports.
Under this plan, the nation would then decide with one referendum whether Iceland should join the EU. If the coalition parties cannot agree on that item they shouldn’t continue their cooperation in government, the resolution concluded.
