Only a few weeks after the formal start of Iceland’s accession talks with the European Union, the country’s parliament is preparing for a vote on a resolution calling for the withdrawal of the membership application. The proposal, submitted by four individual MPs, reflects growing opposition among politicians and the public to the country’s EU membership. “Democracy has to run its course; but I hope, of course, that this resolution will be voted down,” Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir was cited by the local media as saying, on 3 September. She indicated that the vote might take place this month.

The European Commission is concerned about recent developments in Iceland, the spokesperson of Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Füle told Europolitics. “We watch them very closely,” she said, adding, however, that any internal debate concerning the country’s EU membership bid is “very legitimate”.

An eventual adoption of the resolution by the Icelandic parliament (the Althingi), which according to local media is rather unlikely, would oblige the government to stop the ongoing talks and withdraw the membership application. It would be the first such case in the EU’s enlargement history. Never before has a candidate country decided to withdraw its membership application before completing accession talks.

GROWING EU-PHOBIA

Over a year ago, in a narrow 33-28 vote, the Althingi backed formal application for membership of the European Union. Since then, however, opposition to membership has been growing steadily. A recent opinion poll found that some 60% of Icelanders were opposed to membership, up from 54% in November 2009. According to experts, the drop in support had come as a result of the fallout from the collapse of the Icesave bank, in 2008, and the unsuccessful negotiations with the two affected EU member states – the Netherlands and the UK.

The current ‘mackerel war’ is certain to increase further the public’s opposition, experts predict. Most Icelanders are in favour of their country’s decision, strongly contested by the EU, to raise its quota for mackerel fishing to 130,000 tonnes in 2010 (compared with its traditional quota of 108,000 tonnes based on the 1999 agreement signed by the EU, Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands - see Europolitics4031). Commenting on the row over mackerel quotas with the EU, Iceland’s Fisheries Minister Jon Bjarnason called for the country’s application for membership to be withdrawn. Bjarnason is a member of the Left-Green Party, which forms part of the Icelandic coalition government elected after the economic collapse almost two years ago. The Left-Greens are opposed to EU membership, but have said they are prepared to let the issue be decided by the people in a national referendum to be called at the end of the accession talks.