The state of EU accession talks with Iceland

In the wake of the financial crisis in Iceland, in July 2009 the country asked to join the EU.

The Commission issued a favourable response to this request in February 2010, followed by the European Council, and negotiations were duly opened in July 2010.

In this report Parliament stated its position.

Iceland has cooperated closely with the EU in the past, so it fulfils most of the conditions for accession, the so-called acquis communautaire. Just two aspects remain problematic: firstly, after Iceland proved relatively successful in overcoming its crisis, its citizens became reluctant to join the EU; and secondly, Iceland remains one of three countries worldwide that do not respect the ban on whale hunting.

The Greens strongly favour Iceland's accession to the EU because its use of renewable energy is exemplary and it makes very good use of its geographical potential.

At the same time we believe it must respect international law on whaling and abandon its whaling fleet.

The Greens succeeded in convincing Parliament to demand that Iceland stop hunting whales if it wants to become an EU Member State.

At the same time, we believe that Iceland should also be recognised as a role model for the use of renewable energy.

Overall, the Greens were satisfied with the result.

Since Parliament's opinion on foreign affairs is not legally binding, conflict over issues in this domain is rare.