The Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs, Össur Skarphédinsson, spoke with his Spanish counterpart Miguel Ángel Moratinos on Saturday. Moratinos assured Skarphédinsson that the Icesave referendum won’t affect Iceland’s application for membership to the European Union; Spain currently holds the EU presidency.
Moratinos stated that the Spanish EU presidency viewed the Icesave issue and Iceland’s EU application as separate issues, and that the new situation that has arisen in Iceland would not have any impact on the EU’s treatment of the application, a press release from the Icelandic Foreign Ministry states.
This is line with the conversation between Skarphédinsson and the UK Foreign Minister David Miliband on January 7, when Miliband declared that the UK would continue to support Iceland’s EU application.
The same view was stated in a conversation between the Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir and the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on January 6.
This position is also in line with the former Swedish EU presidency and statements made by representatives of the EU commission.
In the conversation with Moratinos, the Skarphédinsson explained the situation in Iceland following the president’s decision not to sign the Icesave bill, reiterated Iceland’s vital interests and its determination to honor its international obligations.
Click here to read more about Icesave.
