Iceland votes in favour of EU bid
Iceland's parliament voted to authorise the government to begin accession talks with the European Union, an all but unthinkable prospect until the global financial crisis wrecked the island's economy.
Members of parliament voted 33 to 28 in favour of an EU application following a final round of marathon debates that have lasted for several days. Two MPs abstained from the vote.
The vote paves the way for an application to be sent to Brussels later in July -- something which Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir has campaigned for vigorously following the country's financial meltdown.
If its application is approved by EU member states, Iceland would put the question on actual EU membership to voters in a referendum.
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D Vella
Jul 16th 2009, 19:10
No Iceland hasn'tt. All they have done is agree to start talks.. long way to go yet including a referendum which is by no means certain to go through.
Asa Asgeirs
Jul 16th 2009, 18:11
You are right, we Icelanders are in big trouble. Our debts are at least twice our national products, nobody really knows how much we owe, but we are known for surviving and we´ll do it this time too, with or without the EU.
Robert Vagner
Jul 16th 2009, 17:51
So for Malta in huge financial debts was OK to join, but for some other european nation is not? Real sense of "european" solidarity.
Prosit
lgalea
Jul 16th 2009, 17:35
Sean Cohen
€50 billion in debt will be made good by the eu which includes US Sean.
Iceland only wants to get in the eu because they have grossly mismanaged their economy and now wants the eu and US to bail them out of their predicament. This is like the ex-USSR satellites whose economies are in tatters.
Sean Cohen
Jul 16th 2009, 17:18
@s farrugia: You do realise that Iceland has €50 billion in debt right and the 13 trillion is in krónur and not €.
s farrugia
Jul 16th 2009, 16:36
Lets hope that this will not happen. They have no economy and 13 trillion debt. Thats more debt then the whole US government.