Iceland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Iceland Image File history File links Icstateflag. ... Iceland is a republic. ...

Constitution President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde (Independ.) Althing Ombudsman Political parties Politicians Elections: 2004, 2007 Foreign relations Iceland and the EU Cod War Agreed Minute

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Iceland is not a member state of the European Union (EU) and has never applied for membership. The country is, however, a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), along with Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In 1992 Iceland signed the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement with the European Union along with its EFTA partners (except for Switzerland which rejected the agreement in a referendum) which was designed to allow the EFTA countries to participate in the European Single Market without having to join the EU. The President of Iceland (Icelandic: Forseti Íslands) is Icelands elected head of state. ... Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (born 14 May 1943, in Ísafjörður, Iceland) is the fifth and current President of Iceland, from 1996 to present, re-elected unopposed in 2000, and was re-elected for a third term in 2004. ... The Prime Minister of Iceland (Icelandic: Forsætisráðherra Íslands) is Icelands head of government. ... Geir Hilmar Haarde (born April 8, 1951) is an Icelandic politician. ... The Althing (Modern Icelandic Alþingi; Old Norse Alþing) is the national parliament: literally, the all-thing (or General Assembly) of Iceland. ... Umboðsmaður Alþingis is appointed by the Alþingi to oversee investigation of complaints against government departments and local governments. ... Political parties in Iceland lists political parties in Iceland. ... Politics of Iceland Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Iceland ... A presidential election was held in Iceland on Saturday, 26 June 2004. ... The 2007 Icelandic General Elections will be held in the spring of that year for a four year mandate. ... Iceland maintains diplomatic and commercial relations with practically all nations, but its ties with other Nordic states, with the US, and with the other NATO nations are particularly close. ... The Cod Wars (also called the Iceland Cod Wars) were a series of confrontations between the United Kingdom and Iceland over Icelands claims of authority over tracts of ocean off their coastline as being their exclusive fishery zone. ... The Agreed Minute is a statute governing the nature of the U.S. military presence in Iceland. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was established on May 3, 1960 as an alternative for European states that were not allowed or did not wish to join the European Community (now the European Union). ...  EFTA countries (except Switzerland)  EU countries Acceding EU countries (in EAA entry talks) Together these form the EEA. The European Economic Area (EEA) came into being on January 1, 1994 following an agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Union (EU). ...

The present coalition government of Iceland, consisting of the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) and the liberal Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn), is against joining the EU. No party has explicitly stated that Iceland should join the Union but the Alliance (Samfylkingin) is in favour of membership negotiations resulting in a deal which would then be submitted to a referendum. Conservative may refer to: Conservatism, political philosophy A member of a Conservative Party Conservative extension, premise of deductive logic Conservativity theorem, mathematical proof of conservative extension Conservative Judaism britney spears Category: ... The Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is a center-right political party in Iceland. ... Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of... The Progressive Party (Icelandic: Framsóknarflokkurinn) is an agrarian and liberal party in Iceland. ... The Alliance (Samfylkingin) is a political party in Iceland. ... Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

The most contentious issue regarding possible EU membership for Iceland is the loss of control over natural resources, notably fishing grounds due to the Common Fisheries Policy of the Union. Opponents also point to the good performance of the Icelandic economy, high growth and low unemployment, as a sign that there is no pressing need to join the EU. It is commonly argued that the membership of EEA already brings most of the potential benefits of an EU-membership without the costs. Then there are those who view the EEA membership as costly and the experience with the EEA as a negative one and therefore oppose EU-membership. Unwillingness to hand over a part of Iceland's sovereignty to a supranational organization is another source of opposition to EU membership, as in other European countries. A lobster boat unloading its catch in Ilfracombe harbour, North Devon, England. ... The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fisheries policy of the European Union. ... Icelands small economy is heavily dependent on fishing and related industries, which account for more than 60% of export earnings. ... An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the United States. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ...

Proponents of EU membership largely rely on economic arguments, they view the euro as a solution to the dramatic exchange rate fluctuations of the Icelandic króna, which have posed a challenge for many Icelandic exporting businesses. It is also pointed out that Iceland has Europe's highest grocery prices and completely opening the Icelandic market to EU products might result in lower prices. The Nordic country's foreign minister Valgerdur Sverrisdottír has said in an interview with Iceland Radio that she seriously wishes to look into whether Iceland can join the euro without being a member of the 27-nation EU, according to Norwegian news NRK. Ms Valgerdur Sverrisdottír believes it is difficult to maintain an independent currency in a small economy on the open European market. ISO 4217 Code EUR User(s) European Union: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. ... Króna (plural krónur) is the name of the currency used in Iceland. ...

Former Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson, seems to be also in favour of joining the EU, and predicted on 8 February 2006 that the country will join the EU by 2015. He added that the decisive factor will be the future and the size of the eurozone, especially whether Denmark, Sweden and the UK have joined the euro or not. [1] His prediction, however, did not receive much support in Iceland, instead receiving much criticism, not the least from people within his own government. [2] The Prime Minister of Iceland (Icelandic: Forsætisráðherra Íslands) is Icelands head of government. ... Halldór Ásgrímsson Halldór Ásgrímsson (born September 8, 1947) is the former Prime Minister of Iceland. ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although new Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde has not made any specific announcements on the matter since taking office, a speech he made as Foreign Minister in an official visit to Sweden in February 2006 made his position clear. In response to Ásgrímsson’s earlier prediction Haarde stated that, '"I don't share that point of view. Our policy is not to join in the foreseeable future. We are not even exploring membership." Further in a speech at a conference at the University of Iceland on March 31, 2006, Haarde repeated what he had said on a number of occasions - that no special Icelandic interests demanded membership of the EU. In the same speech he further explained in detail why it would not be in the interest of Iceland to adopt the euro.^[1] A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Geir Hilmar Haarde (born April 8, 1951) is an Icelandic politician. ... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... The University of Iceland (Háskóli Íslands) is a state university, founded in 1911. ...

An opinion poll on the matter conducted in August 2005 (after the rejection of the proposed European Constitution in France and the Netherlands) showed that 43% of respondents were in favour of EU membership while 37% were against, 20% were undecided. When asked whether Iceland should start membership negotiations, 55% were in favour while 30% were against. 54% of respondents were against adopting the euro while 37% were in favour. [3] However, the most recent poll in Iceland was produced on 18 February 2006 (after the prime minister's prediction) by the Icelandic newspaper Fréttablaðið where 42% were opposed to applying for EU membership while 34% were in favour.[4] The constitutional treaty as signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 by representatives of the EU member states The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE), commonly referred to as the European Constitution, was an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

See also

• Enlargement of the European Union

The European Union (EU) was created by six founding states in 1958 (following the earlier establishment by the same six states of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952) and has grown to 27 member states. ...

External links

• (Icelandic)The Icelandic European Movement (favours Icelandic membership)
• (Icelandic)Heimssýn, the cross-political organisation of Icelandic eurosceptics
• An Icelandic eurosceptic blog (Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson)