Iceland–European Union relations

Iceland is heavily integrated into the European Union via the European Economic Area and the Schengen Agreement, despite its status as a non-EU member state. Iceland applied for membership in 2009 but the application was controversial and the Icelandic government later froze the application.[1]

Euro-Icelandic relations

EU	Iceland

Comparison

	European Union	Iceland
Population	447,206,135[2]	364,134
Area	4,324,782 km^2 (1,669,808 sq mi)[3]	102,775 km^2 (39,682 sq mi)
Population Density	115/km² (300/sq mi)	3.5/km^2 (9.1/sq mi)
Capital	Brussels (de facto)	Reykjavík
Global Cities	Paris, Rome, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Amsterdam, Athens, Dublin, Helsinki, Warsaw, Lisbon, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Praha, Bucharest, Nicosia, Budapest, Tallinn, Sofia, Riga, Vilnius, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Zagreb	Reykjavík, Keflavík, Akureyri, Hafnarfjörður, Seyðisfjörður, Ólafsfjörður, Fáskrúðsfjörður, Hvammstangi, Njarðvík, Sandgerði, Dalvík, Reyðarfjörður, Skagaströnd, Garður, Seltjarnarnes, Bolungarvík, Eskifjörður, Vestmannaeyjar
Government	Supranational parliamentary democracy based on the European treaties[4]	Unitary parliamentary republic
First Leader	High Authority President Jean Monnet	President Sveinn Björnsson
Current Leader	Council President Charles Michel Commission President Ursula von der Leyen	President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Official languages	24 official languages, of which 3 considered "procedural" (English, French and German)[5]	Icelandic
Main Religions	72% Christianity (48% Roman Catholicism, 12% Protestantism, 8% Eastern Orthodoxy, 4% Other Christianity), 23% non-Religious, 3% Other, 2% Islam	63.47% Church of Iceland, 2.75% Free Lutheran Church in Reykjavík, 1.98% Free Lutheran Church in Hafnarfjörður, 0.89% Independent Lutheran Congregation, 4.02% Catholic Church, 2.05% Other Christian denominations, 1.31% Ásatrúarfélagið, 0.96% Zuism, 0.42% Buddhism, 0.35% Islam, 14.30% Other and unspecified, 7.17% Unaffiliated
Ethnic groups	Germans (ca. 83 million)[6], French (ca. 67 million), Italians (ca. 60 million), Spanish (ca. 47 million), Poles (ca. 46 million), Romanians (ca. 16 million), Dutch (ca. 13 million), Greeks (ca. 11 million), Portuguese (ca. 11 million), and others	89% Icelandic, 5% Polish, 1% Lithuanians, 5% others
GDP (nominal)	$16.477 trillion, $31,801 per capita	$27 billion, $75,700 per capita

Integration

Though Iceland is not in the EU, it is a member of the Schengen area

Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a grouping of four non-EU European countries, and is also part of the European Economic Area (EEA). Through the EEA, Iceland participates with a non-voting status in certain EU agencies and programmes, including enterprise, environment, education (including the Erasmus Programme[7]) and research programs. Iceland also contributes funds to "social and economic cohesion" in the EU/EEA.[8] Iceland also frequently consults the EU on foreign affairs and frequently aligns itself to EU foreign policy. Iceland also participates in EU civilian peacekeeping missions.[7]

Iceland is a member of the Nordic Passport Union[8] and the Schengen Area, which now is under EU law, as a non-voting participant. Iceland's participation in the Schengen Area allows free movement of people between Iceland and the rest of the Schengen Area. Several thousand Icelanders travel to and study or work in the EU. A large majority of foreigners in Iceland come from the EU.[7] Iceland is also associated with the Dublin Convention on justice and home affairs cooperation. Iceland also has links to several EU member states through its membership of the Nordic Council.

Use of the euro

During the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis, instability in the Icelandic króna led to discussion in Iceland about adopting the euro. However, Jürgen Stark, a Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, has stated that "Iceland would not be able to adopt the EU currency without first becoming a member of the EU".[9] As of the ECB's May 2012 convergence report, Iceland did not meet any of the convergence criteria.[10] One year later, the country managed to comply with the deficit criteria and had begun to decrease its debt-to-GDP ratio,[11] but still suffered from elevated HICP inflation and long-term governmental interest rates.[12][13]

Explanations for Iceland's non-membership of the European Union

Academics have proposed several explanations for why Iceland has not joined the European Union:

• The importance of the fishing industry to Iceland's economy and the perception that EU membership (and its Common Fisheries Policy) will have an adverse effect on the fishing industry.[14][15][16]
• The perception that EU membership will have an adverse effect on Iceland's agricultural sector.[15]
• Iceland's strong ties with the United States, which included significant economic, diplomatic and military assistance, decreased Iceland's dependence on European countries.[15]
• The victories in the Cod Wars may have strengthened Icelandic nationalism and boosted the perception that Iceland can succeed through unilateral or bilateral means rather than compromise in multilateral frameworks.[15]
• The Icelandic electoral system favors rural areas, which are more eurosceptic.[15]
• The tendency for Icelandic elites to pursue education in the United States or eurosceptic European countries (such as the United Kingdom or the Nordic countries), and to cooperate more closely with political elites from those countries.[15]
• Icelandic nationalism and the legacy of Iceland's past as a colonial entity.[17][18][16]
• The impact of the Icesave dispute with the Netherlands and the UK.[17]

Trade relations

In fisheries, the most important sector of the Icelandic economy, Iceland has a €879 million trade surplus with the EU.

Economic relations between Iceland and the European Union are primarily governed by two agreements: a bilateral free trade agreement signed in 1972, and the agreement on the EEA in 1994. The EEA was established to give Iceland, among other European countries outside the EU, access to the EU market. Iceland's access to the EU market in respect of agriculture and fisheries is dealt with by separate bilateral agreements. Iceland is legally bound to implement into its own law all EU directives applicable to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. This is complemented by regular meetings between EU and Icelandic officials, including a twice-yearly meeting of EEA foreign ministers.[8][19]

Icelandic-European trade[20]
Direction of trade	Goods (2016)	Services (2016)	Investment (2016)
EU to Iceland	€2.9 billion	€1.4 billion	€8.5 billion
Iceland to EU	€3.6 billion	€1.2 billion	€-0.8 billion

78% of Iceland's exports went to the EU and 52% of Iceland's imports came from it, making the EU Iceland's most important trading partner, followed by Norway. Traditionally, Iceland's economy has focused on fisheries and renewable energy, but it has been diversifying into aluminium production, pharmaceuticals, information technologies, tourism and the financial sector. Iceland is still a large exporter of fish (the third largest exporter to the EU after Norway and China) with a world trade surplus of €1.1 billion in 2008. In fisheries, the EU had a 2009 trade deficit of €879 million. Until Iceland's 2009 financial crisis, its commercial services sector had been growing rapidly, accounting for almost 35% of total exports (goods and services combined).[19]

EU membership

Icelandic EU accession bid
Status
Application frozen
Website	eu.mfa.is
Statistics
EU average Iceland PPP GDP ($M) 552,780 12,664 PPP per capita ($) 40,600 52,490 Area (km^2) 165,048 103,001 Population 18,583,598 319,756

Iceland applied to join the European Union on 16 July 2009 and formal negotiations began on 27 July 2010.[1] However, on 13 September 2013 the Government of Iceland dissolved its accession team and suspended its application to join the EU. On 12 March 2015, Foreign Minister of Iceland Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson stated that he had sent a letter to the EU withdrawing the application for membership, without the approval of the Althing, though the European Union stated that Iceland had not formally withdrawn the application.[21]

If negotiations were to resume, Iceland would face controversial issues on fisheries which could potentially derail an agreement, despite already being a member of the European Economic Area[22] (which excludes fishery). If an agreement were to be concluded, the accession treaty would be subject to a national referendum in Iceland and require ratification by every EU state.[23]

Pre-2008 opinion

From 1995 to 2007 the government coalition of the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) and the liberal Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn), opposed joining the EU, while the opposition Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) supported membership negotiations. In 1994, the Social Democratic Party (Alþýðuflokkurinn) became the first Icelandic political party to include the intention to apply to join the EU in its policy statement.[24] Despite this hostility towards EU membership, the Independence Party was forced to accept some of the constraints associated with participation in the European project. Iceland sought shelter provided by the EEA, EFTA and Schengen because non-membership of the EEA and EFTA would have threatened its key economic interests, and non-membership of Schengen would have imposed burdens on Icelandic individuals.[25]

Former Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson predicted on 8 February 2006 that the country would join the EU by 2015. He added that the decisive factor would be the future and the size of the Eurozone, especially whether Denmark, Sweden and the UK would have adopted the euro or not.[26] His prediction received some criticism, not the least from people within his own government.[27]

Another former Prime Minister, Geir H. Haarde, has on a number of occasions stated his opposition to EU membership, both as Foreign Minister under Halldór Ásgrímsson and after taking office as Prime Minister. In response to Halldór Ásgrímsson's earlier prediction, Haarde said, "I don't share that point of view. Our policy is not to join in the foreseeable future. We are not even exploring membership." In a speech at a conference at the University of Iceland on 31 March 2006, Geir 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.[28]

Following the 2007 election, the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance formed a new coalition with a policy of not applying for membership, but setting up a special committee to monitor the development within the EU and suggest ways to respond to that.[29]

Due to Iceland's limited currency, the government has explored the possibility of adopting the euro without joining the European Union. The EU, however, says that Iceland cannot join the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) without becoming a full EU member state (all other non-EU states that use the euro do so because they previously used a member state currency that was replaced by the euro).

Effect of 2008 financial crisis

See also: 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis

At a meeting of members of his party on 17 May 2008, Geir Haarde said that in his opinion the cost of joining the EU outweighed the benefits, and therefore he was not in favour of membership.[30] However, in October 2008, during talks to repatriate a portion of Iceland's foreign invested pension funds—Iceland having been particularly hard hit by the financial crisis of September 2008—the unions demanded that Iceland apply for EU membership in return for wage restraint.[31]

On 30 October 2008, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, minister of education, said that "Iceland has to define its long-term national interests and part of that is a revision of the currency regime, including a possible EU application" and that an application for membership needed to be discussed "in weeks rather than months".[32]

Two weeks later, on 17 November 2008, the Independence Party announced it would hold its party congress in January 2009 instead of Autumn 2009, to reconsider the possibility of applying for EU membership; the Progressive Party also announced it would hold its party congress in January, after two anti-EU MPs (including the party leader) resigned and were replaced by MPs more positive towards EU application.[33]

The Progressive Party accepted at its congress to support application for EU membership but with very strict conditions including one demanding full authority for Iceland over its fishing grounds and other national resources.[34] When the government headed by the Independence Party was dissolved in January the party decided to postpone its congress until March. The congress eventually decided on an unchanged opposition to EU membership but also claimed that if the issue were opened by others both an application and an initial accession treaty with the EU should be put to a referendum.[35]

The US denied Iceland's financial request for financial support after the 2008 economic crash. Iceland turned to the EU for assistance, but they also turned Iceland’s request for aid down. This seriously damaged the efforts of the Europhiles in Iceland to sell the EU as a shelter provider to Iceland. The Europhiles mainly focused on the potential economic benefits of EU membership and the adoption of the euro, emphasizing the benefits of cheaper goods for consumers and enterprises, and access to aid from the EU structural funds for rural areas, agriculture and the tourism industry. There was, however, no mention of the EU as a soft security shelter provider. After a speedy economic recovery and considerable domestic opposition to membership, the application was put on hold in 2013. At present, the Icelandic government does not regard the country as a candidate to join the EU, though it has not withdrawn its membership application. Iceland’s membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Schengen provide Iceland with partial political, economic and societal shelter but it is secondary to formal membership of the EU. Iceland’s membership of the EU is unlikely to materialize in the present domestic and European environment. A dramatic change is needed to alter Iceland’s present European policy. Domestic features of each and every state need to be taken into consideration in order to fully understand its calculations of cost and benefits of a potential shelter relationship.[25]

2009 election and parliamentary debate

Iceland's finance minister, Steingrimur Sigfusson, ahead of the country's first elections since the financial crisis, stated that "any decision for Iceland to join the European Union and the single currency must be taken by its people, not one political party", on the subject that the issue of EU membership was the greatest threat to a stable coalition.[36]

The 2009 election, which followed the financial crisis, saw the Progressive Party switch to supporting EU membership but the Independence Party called for a referendum prior to the start of negotiations.[37][38][39] The Social Democratic Alliance made joining the EU a key issue in their campaign.[40]

After the win of the pro-EU Social Democratic Alliance in the election, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir spoke of an immediate application to the European Union and adoption of the euro within four years as a way to deal with the country's debt.[41]

In late April 2009, it was announced that the United Kingdom, a member state of the European Union with whom Iceland has had a long history of fishing and territorial water disputes, supported Iceland joining the EU.[42]

In early May 2009, it was leaked that the issue of application for EU membership would likely be left to the parliament, in which the Alliance, the Progressive Party and the Citizens' Movement together already had enough seats to approve the application.[43] Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, the leader of the Progressive Party, strongly objected to the suggestion that his party would assist the government in this matter, however.[44] The anti-EU Left-Green coalition partner accepted that in spring 2010, the minister for foreign affairs would present to the parliament a bill on talks with the EU.[45]

On 10 May 2009, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir announced that the government intended to move towards membership more quickly than previously expected. She announced that a bill would be introduced in parliament on 15 May 2009, authorising the opening of accession talks with the EU. She also stated that she was confident that the legislation would pass, and that she had secured a parliamentary majority on the issue, despite the official opposition to talks by one of her coalition partners. She went on to say that she expected an official application to be submitted no later than July 2009. This seemed to leave Iceland on course to join the EU along with Croatia in 2011, as predicted by EU Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn. The government has stated that the issue will be put to a vote once an accession agreement has been negotiated.[46]

The motion to file an application for membership was officially introduced in parliament on 25 May 2009.[47][48] Voting was to have been held on 13 July, but was postponed until 16 July.[49][50][51] First, a proposal by the Independence Party to hold a referendum on the membership application was defeated by 32 to 30 with one abstention. Then the Social Democratic Alliance's proposal to apply for membership immediately was approved with a narrow majority of 33 to 28 votes with 2 abstentions.[52]

Application for membership

To become a member, a country must first apply and then be recognised as a candidate country. For that to happen the country must satisfy the first of the Copenhagen criteria: it must be a politically stable democracy that respects human rights. Then negotiations will take place which will consider the country's fulfilment of economic criteria, the country's degree of adoption of EU legislation, and whether there shall be any exceptions.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has claimed that negotiations on an accession treaty would take less than a year, because Iceland has already adopted two-thirds of EU legislation[53] in relation to the EEA.[54] He has on other occasions claimed that the negotiations could take up to four years.[55]

On 30 January 2009 Rehn commented that Iceland could enter the European Union promptly in 2011, at the same time as Croatia, saying that Iceland is an old democracy but also that it should not get special treatment. Fishing quotas and Icelandic whaling may be the toughest issues in any such negotiations.[56]

On 16 July 2009 the Althing voted in favour of accession talks with the EU (with 33 votes in favour, 28 against, and 2 abstentions).[57] The head of the parliamentary committee on EU affairs, Árni Þór Sigurðsson, has stated that Iceland will not be ready to join the EU any earlier than 2013.[58] However the government stated that it planned to complete negotiations by the end of 2010.[59]

On 17 July 2009 the application for Icelandic membership of the EU was handed to the government of Sweden, which then held the presidency of the Council of the European Union, by the ambassador of Iceland in Stockholm.[60] The application was again handed over by the Icelandic foreign minister to the Swedish one in a ceremony in Stockholm on 23 July 2009.[61]

The letter of application was dated 16 July 2009.[62] The application was acknowledged by the Council of the European Union on 27 July 2009.[63]

Accession negotiations

Sweden, then holder of the EU presidency, announced that it would prioritise Iceland's EU accession process.[64] On 24 July, the Lithuanian Parliament unanimously approved and gave full support for Iceland’s membership application to join the European Union.[65] Later, on 27 July, Malta also announced that it supports Iceland's EU bid.[66]

In September 2009, the Spanish foreign minister visited Iceland to discuss the progress of the Icelandic application; Spain chaired the EU from January–June 2010. On 8 September, the EU commission sent a list of 2,500 questions to Iceland about its fulfilment of political and economic criteria and adoption of EU law. Iceland returned answers to them on 22 October 2009.[67] On 2 November, Iceland selected a chief negotiator for the membership negotiations with the EU: Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson, Iceland's Ambassador to Belgium.[68]

In January 2010 the Icesave dispute became an issue. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands want the Icelandic government to repay them the costs incurred in covering their citizens' losses due to the bankruptcy of some Icelandic banks. If Iceland does not pay, obstacles to membership could be laid by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. If Iceland agrees to repay the UK and the Netherlands, the added debt will make it difficult to adopt the euro, a major reason for Iceland to join the EU, because of the convergence criteria. Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, who then held the Presidency of the European Union, has said that the Icesave dispute does not impact Iceland's application.[69] David Miliband, then British Foreign Minister, reaffirmed the UK's continued support for Iceland's EU application.[69] Additionally, the Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has stated that while the opening of negotiations will not be blocked by the Icesave dispute, it must be resolved before Iceland's accession.[70]

In February 2010, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy recommended to the Council of the European Union to start accession negotiations with Iceland.[71] While it was expected that Iceland would be considered for official candidate status at the EU summit in March, this was delayed to allow the German national parliament, which has the authority to debate important EU policy such as enlargement before action is taken by the government, to consider the matter.[72] The German Parliament voted in favour of opening membership negotiations on 22 April 2010.[73] The European Council decided in June to begin negotiations,[74] and on 17 June 2010, the EU granted official candidate status to Iceland by formally approving the opening of membership talks.[75]

Negotiations for membership of the EU started on 27 July 2010,[76] with screening of specific acquis chapters beginning on 15 November 2010.[77] Iceland became eligible for pre-accession funding from the EU through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) since July 2010.[78]

The first annual report on negotiations was published in November 2010:[79] the main issues at stake remained the fisheries sector and whale hunting, while progress has been made concerning the Icesave dispute.[80]

The screening process ended and formal negotiations began on 27 June 2011. Four chapters were opened: science and research; education and culture; public procurement; information society and media. The first two were immediately closed, a first in accession history. Iceland aimed to open half of the remaining chapters under the Polish presidency (the second half of 2011) and the other half under the following Danish presidency (first half of 2012). Despite disputes over Icesave and fishing, and the fact there was then no majority in favour of membership in Iceland, Icelandic Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson was confident Iceland would join and looked to the EU's flexibility in negotiations with Norway during the 1990s as hope. He did however claim that ultimately it was the major fishing countries of the EU who would influence the outcome of the application.[22]

In February 2013, the Icelandic chief negotiator stated that the main driving force for Iceland joining the EU was the benefit to the country of adopting the euro to replace the inflation-plagued Icelandic króna. Iceland's HICP inflation and related long-term government interest rates were both recorded to be around 6 per cent on average for 2012. Most importantly, however, while the country retained the Icelandic kronur, it was unable to lift the capital controls recently introduced in the turmoil of the economic crisis. Introduction of the euro, a far stronger currency, would allow the country to lift these capital controls and achieve an increased inward flow of foreign economic capital, which ultimately would ensure higher and more stable economic growth. To be eligible to adopt the euro, Iceland would need to join the EU, as unilateral euro adoption had previously been refused by the EU.[81]

2013 election and withdrawal of application

The Icelandic Parliamentary committee on foreign affairs tabled a proposal on 18 December 2012 to suspend accession negotiations. The motion also called for an "application referendum" to be held to determine the will of the Icelandic people prior to any resumption of negotiations.[82] A similar proposal was submitted to the Icelandic parliament in May 2012, but was rejected by a vote of 25 for and 34 against.[83] The Icelandic parliament had yet to vote on the new proposal, which were supported primarily at the time by the opposition Independence Party and Progressive Party.[84] The leaders of both governing parties, the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement, stated that they did not support the motion.[85] However, some MPs from the Left-Green Movement declared their support for the measure.[86] On 10 January 2013, the proposal was formally adopted by the Foreign Affairs committee.[87]

On 14 January, the Icelandic government announced that negotiations would be slowed, and that an accession agreement would not be reached before the parliamentary election in April.[88] No new chapters will be opened prior to the election, though negotiations will continue on chapters that have already been opened.[89] In February 2013, the national congress of both the Independence Party and Progressive Party reconfirmed their policy that further membership negotiations with the EU should be stopped and not resumed unless they are first approved by a national referendum,[90][91] while the national congresses of the Social Democratic Alliance, Bright Future and Left-Green Movement reiterated their support for the completion of EU accession negotiations.[92]

On 19 March 2013, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, an Independence Party MP, put forward a motion in the Althing calling for a referendum asking the Icelandic public whether EU accession negotiations should continue. She proposed that the referendum be held during the upcoming parliamentary election in April if possible, or else during local elections in the spring of 2014.[93] In response to Gunnarsdóttir and other proponents of EU integration within the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the party, reiterated the party's policy of stopping negotiations with the EU, but promised to hold a referendum on continuing the negotiations in the first half of their term if they form government.[94][95][96]

The ruling left-wing parties suffered a major defeat in the parliamentary elections that were held on 27 April 2013, while the centrist Progressive Party had a large victory. The leaders of the Progressive Party and the Independence Party began negotiating the formation of a coalition government, and on 22 May it was announced that a coalition platform had been agreed to that would suspend all accession talks with the EU and not resume them unless approved by a referendum.[97] However, under Icelandic law, it is not the Government but the Icelandic Parliament which decides to end negotiations.[98] On 13 June, Iceland's Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson informed the European Commission that the newly elected government intended to "put negotiations on hold".[99] European Commission President Manuel Barroso responded on 16 July 2013 by requesting that the new Icelandic Prime Minister make a decision on the continuation of their accession bid "without further delay", and stressed that the EU remained "committed to continue the accession negotiations process, which I'm certain could address Iceland's specificities".[100]

In August 2013 the Icelandic government revealed that it had received a legal opinion that the 2009 Parliamentary vote did not oblige it to continue accession negotiations with the EU. In light of this, the Foreign Ministry stated that it had "decided to consider dissolving the negotiation committee".[101] A few weeks later the committee was officially dissolved. Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson said that "the process has been suspended. But nothing has been closed down."[102] In October 2013 Benediktsson stated that no decision on ending Iceland's membership bid would be made until a report being prepared by the government on negotiations and "the recent changes within the union" was completed, expected to be by the end of 2013. Benediktsson went on to say that "we will see if a proposal will be put before the parliament or not."[103] On 12 March 2015, Foreign Minister of Iceland Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson stated that he had sent a letter to the EU withdrawing the application for membership, without the approval of the Althing, though the European Union stated that Iceland had not formally withdrawn the application.[21][104]

In 2017, Iceland's newly elected government announced that it would hold a vote in parliament on whether to hold a referendum on resuming EU membership negotiations.[105][106] However, in November 2017 that government was replaced by a coalition of the Independence Party, the Left Green Movement and the Progressive Party; all of whom oppose membership. Only 11 out of 63 MPs are in favour of EU membership.[107]

Timeline

EU affiliation ahead of membership application

• 1970-01-01: Iceland joins EFTA.
• 1992-05-02: Iceland signs EU Association Agreement (entering the EEA).
• 1994-01-01: EU Association Agreement entry into force.
• 2001-03-25: Iceland joins the Schengen Area.

EU membership application and the preparational phase

• 2009-07-17: Iceland submits EU membership application.[108]
• 2009-09-08: European Commission presents legislative questionnaire to Iceland.
• 2009-10-22: Iceland responds to questionnaire.
• 2010-02-24: European Commission recommended that the Council open accession negotiations with Iceland.[108]
• 2010-06-17: Iceland officially recognised as an accession candidate by the European Council.
• 2010-07-26: The Council approved the framework for accession negotiations with Iceland.[108]
• 2010-07-27: Preparational phase of the membership negotiation process starts (Accession Conference nr.1).[108]
• 2010-11-15: Screening process started.
• 2011-06-21: Screening process ended.[109]

EU membership negotiations

• 2011-06-27: Accession Conference nr.2.[108] Real negotiations started with the first four chapters being opened, of which two were completed and closed on the same day.[110][111]
• 2011-10-19: Accession Conference nr.3.[108] Two chapters were opened and closed immediately. In total 6 out of 33 chapters have now been opened (of which 4 have been closed).[112]
• 2011-12-12: Accession Conference nr.4.[108] Five chapters were opened, four were closed immediately. In total 11 out of 33 chapters have now been opened (of which 8 have been closed).[113]
• 2012-03-30: Accession Conference nr.5.[108] Four chapters were opened and two chapters were closed. In total 15 out of 33 chapters have now been opened (of which 10 have been closed).[114]
• 2012-05-24: Proposal for a national referendum on discontinuing accession talks with the European Union rejected with 34 votes against and 25 in favour.[83]
• 2012-06-22: Accession Conference nr.6.[108] Three new chapters opened. In total 18 out of 33 chapters have now been opened (of which 10 have been closed).[115][116]
• 2012-10-24: Accession Conference nr.7.[108] Three new chapters opened. In total 21 out of 33 chapters have now been opened (of which 10 have been closed).[117]
• 2012-12-18: Accession Conference nr.8.[108] Six new chapters opened and one more chapter closed. In total 27 out of 33 chapters have now been opened (of which 11 have been closed).[118]

Negotiation progress

Acquis chapter	EC assessment (2012)[119]	Screening started	Screening completed	Chapter opened	Chapter closed
1. Free movement of goods	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-12-07	2010-12-08[120]	2012-12-18[121]	–
2. Freedom of movement for workers	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-02-09	2011-02-09[122]	2011-10-19[112]	2011-10-19[112]
3. Right of establishment & freedom to provide services	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-12-09		–	–
4. Free movement of capital	Some level of preparation	2010-12-10	2010-12-10	–	–
5. Public procurement	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-11-15	2010-11-15[123]	2011-06-27[124]	–
6. Company law	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-11-16	2010-11-16[125]	2011-12-12[126]	2011-12-12[126]
7. Intellectual property law	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-12-20	2010-12-20[127]	2011-10-19[112]	2011-10-19[112]
8. Competition policy	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-12-06	2010-12-06[128]	2012-03-30[129]	2012-12-18[121]
9. Financial services	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-11-18	2010-12-15[130]	2012-10-24[131]	–
10. Information society & media	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-11-17	2010-11-17[132]	2011-06-27[124]	–
11. Agriculture & rural development	Early stage	2010-11-30	2011-01-27[133]	–	–
12. Food safety, veterinary & phytosanitary policy	Moderately prepared	2011-02-14	2011-03-31[134]	–	–
13. Fisheries	Some level of preparation	2010-12-16	2011-03-02[135]	–	–
14. Transport policy	Good level of preparation	2011-05-04	2011-06-09	2012-06-22[115]	–
15. Energy	Moderately prepared	2011-05-12	2011-06-20[136]	2012-03-30[129]	–
16. Taxation	Moderately prepared	2011-02-03	2011-03-04[137]	2012-12-18[121]	–
17. Economic & monetary policy	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-03-17	2011-05-17[138]	2012-12-18[121]	–
18. Statistics	Moderately prepared	2011-05-02	2011-06-07	2012-10-24[131]	–
19. Social policy & employment	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-02-07	2011-03-16[139]	2012-06-22[115]	–
20. Enterprise & industrial policy	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-04-12	2011-05-25[140]	2011-12-12[126]	2011-12-12[126]
21. Trans-European networks	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-05-06	2011-06-10	2011-12-12[126]	2011-12-12[126]
22. Regional policy & coordination of structural instruments	Good level of preparation	2011-01-31	2011-02-22[141]	2012-12-18[121]	–
23. Judiciary & fundamental rights	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-01-11	2011-02-11[142]	2011-12-12[126]	2011-12-12[126]
24. Justice, freedom & security	Good level of preparation	2011-04-14	2011-05-24	–	–
25. Science & research	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-11-25	2011-01-14[143]	2011-06-27	2011-06-27[124]
26. Education & culture	Generally already applies the acquis	2010-11-26	2011-01-14[144]	2011-06-27	2011-06-27[124]
27. Environment	Good level of preparation	2010-11-22	2011-01-19[145]	2012-12-18[121]	–
28. Consumer & health protection	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-04-11	2011-05-16[146]	2012-03-30[129]	2012-03-30[129]
29. Customs union	Good level of preparation	2011-03-08	2011-04-06[147]	2012-10-24[131]	–
30. External relations	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-04-08	2011-05-19[148]	2012-12-18[121]	–
31. Foreign, security & defence policy	Generally already applies the acquis	2011-04-07	2011-05-20	2012-03-30[129]	2012-03-30[129]
32. Financial control	Moderately prepared	2010-11-29	2011-02-02	2012-06-22[115]	–
33. Financial & budgetary provisions	Good level of preparation	2011-03-07	2011-04-04[149]	2011-12-12[126]	–
34. Institutions	Nothing to adopt	–	–	–	–
35. Other issues	Nothing to adopt	–	–	–	–
Progress		33 out of 33[150]	33 out of 33[150]	27 out of 33	11 out of 33

• A document explaining the general process and each chapter
• Situation of policy area at the start of membership negotiations is according to the 2010 EC Opinion.
• Timetable for screening meetings 2010–2011

The screening is a series of meetings between the commission and the applicant country examining the level of fulfilment of the EU acquis. It allows candidate countries to familiarise themselves with the acquis and it allows the Commission and the member States to evaluate the degree of preparedness of candidate countries prior to negotiations.

Political parties' stances

Party		Position	Main argument as stated on party websites
	Bright Future	Yes	Supports the continuation of accession negotiations and a referendum on joining the EU.[151]
	Centre Party	No
	Independence Party	No	"The Independence Party puts forth the clear demand that the application for Iceland's membership of the European Union will be withdrawn without delay."[152]
	Left-Green Movement	No	"EU-membership would diminish the independence of Iceland even more than the EEA Agreement does and jeopardise Iceland's control over its resources."[153]
	Pirate Party Iceland	Neutral	The party concludes that it should not be up to politicians to decide whether Iceland joins the European Union but to the general population after transparent and informative accession talks.[154]
	Progressive Party	No	"The Progressive Party believes the interests of the country and the nation are best secured outside the EU."[155]
	Reform Party	Yes	[156]
	Social Democratic Alliance	Yes	"We want to apply for an EU-membership and start negotiations. We will seek a national unity in this matter and use the national referendum as the highest court."[157][158]

2009–2013

Group	Party		Position
Government		Social Democratic Alliance	Yes
		Left-Green Movement	No
Opposition		Independence Party	No
		Progressive Party	No
		The Movement	Neutral
No seats in the parliament		Citizens' Movement	Yes[159]
		Liberal Party	No[160]
		Best Party	Neutral

2013–2016

Group	Party		Position
Government		Progressive Party	No
		Independence Party	No
Opposition		Social Democratic Alliance	Yes
		Left-Green Movement	No
		Bright Future	Yes
		Pirate Party Iceland	Neutral
		Reform Party	Yes

2016–2017

Group	Party		Position
Government		Independence Party	No
		Reform Party	Yes
		Bright Future	Yes
Opposition		Left-Green Movement	No
		Pirate Party Iceland	Neutral
		Progressive Party	No
		Social Democratic Alliance	Yes

2017–present

Group	Party		Position
Government		Independence Party	No
		Left-Green Movement	No
		Progressive Party	No
Opposition		Social Democratic Alliance	Yes
		Centre Party	No
		Pirate Party Iceland	Neutral
		People's Party	Unknown
		Reform Party	Yes

Public opinion

A poll released in January 2014 found that 67.5% of Icelanders support holding a referendum on the continuation of accession negotiations.[161] On 22 February, the governing parties agreed to formally withdraw the membership application, without first holding a referendum on the matter, and submitted a bill to parliament seeking their approval to do so.[162][163] The decision led to thousands of protesters taking to the streets outside of the Parliament buildings in Reykjavík.[164][165][166] By 28 February 82% were in favour of holding the referendum.[167] More than 40,000 people (16.5% of Iceland's voters) have signed a petition demanding that the promised referendum be held.[166][168] On 25 February, Ragnheiður Ríkharðsdóttir, Chairman of the parliamentary group of the Independence Party, announced her intention to not vote in favour of the proposal.[169] In early March, the EU ambassador to Iceland said that the country could keep its application suspended rather than having to decide between resuming negotiations or formally withdrawing the application, "but of course not for an unlimited period of time".[170] The bill was not approved before parliament's summer recess.[171]

Various polls have been taken on the public opinion of starting accession negotiations, joining the EU or adopting the euro.

Date	Poller	Question	Yes	No	Unsure
May 1999	DV [172]	Start negotiations	57,1%	27,7%	15,2%
March 2002	Capacent-Gallup[173]	Start negotiations	91%	5%	4%
		Join	57%	25%	23%
		Adopt Euro	66%	33%	12%
August 2005	Capacent-Gallup [174]	Start negotiations	55%	37%	8%
		Join	43%	37%	20%
		Adopt Euro	37%	54%	9%
February 2006	Fréttablaðið[175]	Join	34%	42%	24%
September 2007	Capacent-Gallup[176]	Start negotiations	59%	26%	15%
		Join	48%	34%	18%
		Adopt Euro	53%	37%	10%
February 2008	Fréttablaðið[177]	Join	55.1%	44.9%	–
		More reasons than last year	54.7%	7.3%	38.1%
18 October 2008	Capacent Gallup [178]	Referendum on application	70%	17.5%	12.5%
24 November 2008	Fréttablaðið[179]	Submit application	60%	40%	–
January 2009	Capacent Gallup[180]	Join	38%	38%	24%
26 January 2009	Fréttablaðið[181]	Submit application	40%	60%	–
March 2009	[182]	Start negotiations	64%	28%	8%
11 April 2009	Fréttablaðið[183]	Submit application	45.6%	54.4%	0%
5 May 2009	Capacent Gallup[184]	Start negotiations	61%	27%	12%
		Join	39%	39%	22%
10 June 2009	Capacent Gallup [185]	Referendum on application	76.3%	17.8%	5.8%
30 July 2009	Fréttablaðið[186]	Start negotiations	51%	36%	13%
4 August 2009	Capacent Gallup [187]	Join	34.7%	48.5%	16.9%
15 September 2009	Capacent Gallup [188]	Join	32.7%	50.2%	17%
		If referendum now, how would you vote[189]	38.5%	61.5%	0%
		Happy with application?	39.6%	43.2%	17.1%
5 November 2009	Bifröst University Research Institute[190][191]	Join	29.0%	54%	17%
		Start negotiations	50.5%	42.5%	7%
28 February 2010	Capacent Gallup[192]	Join	33.3%	55.9%	10.8%
5 March 2010	Capacent Gallup[193]	Join	24.4%	60%	15.5%
		If referendum now, how would you vote	30.5%	69.4%	0%
14 June 2010	MMR[194]	Maintain EU application	24.3%	57.6%	18.1%
6 July 2010	Capacent Gallup[195]	Join	26%	60%	14%
2 September 2010	Capacent Gallup[196]	Start negotiations	38.8%	45.5%	15.7%
29 September 2010	Fréttablaðið[197]	Continue with negotiations	64.2%	32.8%	3%
24 January 2011	Fréttablaðið[198]	Continue with negotiations	65.4%	34.6%	0%
10 March 2011	Capacent Gallup[199]	Join	31.4%	50.5%	18%
		If referendum now, how would you vote	38.9%	61.1%	0%
17 March 2011	MMR[200]	Join	30%	55.7%	14.2%
16 June 2011	Capacent Gallup[201]	Join	37.3%	50.1%	12.6%
30 June 2011	Capacent Gallup[202]	Maintain EU application	38.5%	51.0%	10.5%
11 August 2011	Capacent Gallup[203]	Join	35.5%	64.5%	0%
12 September 2011	Fréttablaðið[204]	Continue with negotiations	63.4%	36.6%	0%
16 November 2011	MMR[205]	Maintain EU application	35.3%	50.5%	14.2%
17 November 2011	Capacent Gallup[206]	Continue with negotiations	53.1%	46.9%	0%
12 December 2011	Fréttablaðið[207]	Continue with negotiations	65.3%	34.7%	0%
19 January 2012	Capacent Gallup[208]	Join	31.5%	53.5%	15%
19 January 2012	MMR[209]	Adopt Euro	28%	52%	20%
22 February 2012	Capacent Gallup[210]	Join	26.3%	56.2%	17.5%
		If referendum now, how would you vote	32.6%	67.4%	0%
		Maintain EU application	42.6%	43.6%	13.9%
27 April 2012	University of Iceland[211]	Join	27.5%	53.8%	18.7%
15 October 2012	Capacent Gallup[212]	Join	27.3%	57.6%	15.0%
12 November 2012	Capacent Gallup[213]	Maintain EU application	36.4%	53.5%	9.9%
18 January 2013	Fréttablaðið[214]	Continue with negotiations	48.5%	36.4%	15%
13 February 2013	MMR[215]	Join	24.2%	63.3%	12.5%
6 March 2013	Capacent Gallup[216]	Join	25.1%	58.5%	16.5%
		If referendum now, how would you vote	30%	70%	0%
		Maintain EU application	43.5%	44.6%	11.9%
15 March 2013	Capacent Gallup[217]	Continue and complete negotiations	54%	35%	11%
23 April 2013	University of Iceland[218]	Join	27.6%	52.2%	20.2%
		Continue with negotiations	52.7%	30.7%	16.5%
5 March 2014	Capacent Gallup[219]	Join	37%	47%	16%
		Hold referendum on continuing negotiations	72%	21%	7%
February 2016	Gallup[220]	Join	40.9%	59.1%
		Resume negotiations	45.4%	40.3%
September 2016	MMR[221]	Join	28.2%	50.6%
November 2016	MMR[221]	Join	20.9%	57.8%	21.3%
February 2017	MMR[222]	Join	25.9%	54%	20.1%

Comparison with EU countries

If Iceland were admitted to the EU, it would be the smallest member state in terms of population. Its area (103,000 km²) is somewhat close to the average for EU countries (165,048 km²), but it would be the least densely populated country in the EU. The table below shows its population and population density in comparison to some of the other member states.[223][224]

Population figures				Population density
EU rank	Country	Population	EU rank	Country	Density
	Iceland	329,100		Iceland	3.3
27	Malta	429,344	27	Finland	18.0
26	Luxembourg	562,958	26	Sweden	23.8
25	Cyprus	847,008	25	Estonia	30.3
14	Sweden (EU median)	9,747,355	14	Slovenia (EU median)	102.4
	EU Average	18,149,682		EU Average	117.5
2	France	66,415,161	2	Netherlands	500.7
1	Germany	83,157,201[6]	1	Malta	1,352.4

Iceland’s GDP per capita is among the highest in Europe as is shown in the following tables:[225][226]

EU Ranking	Country	GDP per capita (PPP)
1	Luxembourg	$98,987
2	Ireland	$55,533
3	Netherlands	$49,166
4	Sweden	$47,922
5	Austria	$47,250
6	Germany	$46,893
	Iceland	$46,097
	EU	$37,852
27	Bulgaria	$19,097

The Icelandic language would also be one of the smallest official languages of the EU in terms of native speakers (together with Irish and Maltese).

Comparison to the EU and impact of joining

Member countries	Population	Area (km²)	GDP (billion US$)	GDP per capita (US$)	Languages
Iceland	321,857	103,001	13.654	42,423	Icelandic
EU27	446,824,564	4,138,881			24
EU27+1	509,346,421 (+0.07%)	4,242,882 (+2.48%)			25

See also

• Icelandic European Union membership referendum
• Greenland–European Union relations
• Future enlargement of the European Union
• Norway–European Union relations
• Arctic policy of European Union

Further reading

• Baldur Thorhallsson. 2019. "Iceland and European Integration." in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics.

References

Notes

1. Timeline of events – Iceland's application for membership of the EU, Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs Archived 3 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Population on 1 January". Eurostat. European Commission. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
3. "Field Listing – Area". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Frequently asked questions on languages in Europe". europa.eu. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
6. "Population by sex and citizenship". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
7. Iceland´s home is in Europe, Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archived 4 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
8. Iceland, EEAS Archived 28 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Iceland cannot adopt the Euro without joining EU, says Stark". IceNews. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
10. "Convergence Report May 2012" (PDF). European Central Bank. May 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
11. "European economic forecast – Winter 2013" (PDF). European Commission. 22 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
12. "HICP (2005=100): Monthly data (12-month average rate of annual change)". Eurostat. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
13. "Long-term interest rate statistics for EU Member States (monthly data for the average of the past year)". Eurostat. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
14. Ingebritsen, Christine (1998). The Nordic States and European Unity. Cornell University Press.
15. Thorhallsson, Baldur (2004). Iceland and European Integration: On the Edge. Routledge.
16. Bergmann, Eirikur (1 January 2017). "Iceland: Ever-Lasting Independence Struggle". Nordic Nationalism and Right-Wing Populist Politics. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 93–124. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-56703-1_4. ISBN 9781137567024.
17. Bergmann, Eiríkur (1 March 2014). "Iceland: A postimperial sovereignty project". Cooperation and Conflict. 49 (1): 33–54. doi:10.1177/0010836713514152. ISSN 0010-8367.
18. Hálfdanarson, Guðmundur (2001). Íslenska þjóðríkið – uppruni og endimörk. Reykjavík: Hið íslenska bókmenntafélag og ReykjavíkurAkademían.
19. Iceland, European Commission Archived 25 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine
20. Trade Policy - Iceland, European Commission
21. RÚV, Application not formally withdrawn
22. Willis, Andrew (27 June 2011). "Iceland: membership depends on EU fishery 'superpowers'". Euobserver.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
23. National Referendum – Iceland's application for membership of the EU, Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs Archived 4 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
24. Thorhallsson, Baldur (2004). Iceland and European Integration: On the edge. Routledge. pp. 3–4.
25. Thorhallsson, Steinsson, Baldur, Sverrir (2019). Small States and Shelter Theory. Baldur Thorhallsson. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-138-61537-3.
26. Rettman, Andrew (9 February 2006). Iceland in EU by 2015, prime minister says. EU Observer. Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
27. Prime Minister Ásgrímsson as good as alone in his predictions. EU related news from Iceland, 14 February 2006 Archived 25 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
28. Slashing the rumours: Iceland is far from adopting the euro. Team. 2 May 2007 Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
29. Iceland Mulls EU Membership, DW-World, 24 May 2007 Archived 18 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
30. Geir: Ég vil ekki ganga í ESB. Mbl.is 17 May 2008 (in Icelandic) Archived 18 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
31. Iceland moves to shore up economy. BBC News. 5 October 2008 Archived 8 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
32. "Iceland sees rift over EU membership" ft.com 30 October 2008
33. Independence Party to Form New Policy on EU. Iceland Review. 17 November 2008 Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
34. "Framsókn vill sækja um ESB-aðild með skilyrðum". Morgunblaðið. 16 January 2009.
35. Ályktun um Evrópumál Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
36. Johnson, Miles (24 April 2009). Iceland minister warns on EU. Financial Times.
37. Progressives support Iceland EU entry. Ice News. 17 January 2009 Archived 14 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
38. Iceland Progressives vote to back EU accession talks. Forbes. 16 January 2009
39. Iceland's biggest party wants two EU referendums, EUBusiness, 28 March 2009 Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
40. Icelandic parties clarify EU positions ahead of snap polls, EUBusiness, 31 March 2009 Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
41. Totaro, Paola (27 April 2009). "Iceland may join EU after left-wing victory". The Age. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
42. Britain to Help Speed up Iceland’s EU Membership. Iceland Review. 22 April 2009 Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
43. "Iceland prepares to launch EU accession talks | EU – European Information on Enlargement & Neighbours". EurActiv.com. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
44. Ísland. "RÚV – Stjórnin ýti vandanum á undan sér" (in Icelandic). Ruv.is. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
45. "Ákvörðun um ESB í höndum þjóðarinnar – mbl.is". mbl.is<!. 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
46. "Europe | Iceland's PM to seek vote on EU". BBC News. 10 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
47. "UPDATE 1-Iceland submits proposal to parliament for EU talks - Forbes.com". Forbes.com<!. 25 May 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
48. "EU accession bill reaches Iceland parliament | IceNews – Daily News". Icenews.is. 26 May 2009. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
49. "Iceland's Urgent Bid to Join the E.U." TIME. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
50. "Government split puts Iceland's fast-track EU membership on hold | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 13.07.2009". Dw-world.de. 13 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
51. "Iceland vote on EU bid delayed until Thursday — EUbusiness.com – business, legal and economic news and information from the European Union". Eubusiness.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
52. "Online". IcelandReview. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
53. Iceland could 'quickly' join the EU if requested: Commissioner Archived 23 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
54. "Iceland's European Committee in Brussels". Iceland Review. 23 September 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
55. "Olli Rehn um ESB-aðilt". Icelandic National Television. 20 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
56. "EU lupaa Islannille nopean jäsenyyden ilman erikoiskohtelua". Helsingin Sanomat. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
57. "Iceland's parliament votes in favour of EU talks". Euractiv.com. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
58. "Europe | Iceland moves towards joining EU". BBC News. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
59. "Iceland says ready to complete EU talks by 2011 | EU – European Information on Enlargement & Neighbours". EurActiv.com. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
60. "Application sent to Stockholm for Iceland to join the EU | IceNews – Daily News". Icenews.is. 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
61. "Iceland submits EU membership bid". BBC News. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
62. The application letter itself Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
63. "CONSILIUM – Homepage". Consilium.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
64. "Online". IcelandReview. 6 December 2005. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
65. Balkanson says (24 July 2009). "The Lithuanian Parliament supports Iceland's EU Membership | IceNews – Daily News". Icenews.is. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
66. "News Details". DI-VE. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
67. "Iceland returns EU questions". Icenews.is. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
68. "Stefan Haukur Johannesson to serve as Iceland's Chief EU negotiator". Icenews.is. 2 November 2009. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
69. "Skarphedinsson and Moratinos: Icesave has no impact on EU's treatment of application". Icenews.is. 9 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
70. "Dutch vow not to block Iceland's EU talks". EurActiv. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
71. Commission Opinion on Iceland's application for membership of the European Union Archived 1 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
72. "Lisbon treaty 'delays' Iceland EU bid". theparliament.com. 18 March 2010. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
73. "German Parliament Greenlights Iceland-EU Talks – Iceland Review Online". Icelandreview.com. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
74. "Commission welcomes European Council's decision to open accession negotiations with Iceland". Europa.eu. 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
75. U summit approves membership talks for Iceland; World News; 17 June 2010. Archived 18 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
76. Mahony, Honor. "/ Headline News / Iceland membership talks formally begin Tuesday". Euobserver.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
77. "Facts on Iceland | Latest News". Europe. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
78. EC press release, 14 July 2010 Archived 24 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
79. European Commission, ICELAND 2010 PROGRESS REPORT
80. European Parliament, MEPs welcome Iceland's progress towards EU membership, 22 March 2011 Archived 21 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
81. "Iceland's EU negotiations continue to advance (article)". Lithuania Tribune. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
    "Iceland's EU negotiations continue to advance (video interview: part 1)". Lithuania Tribune. 14 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
    "Iceland's EU negotiations continue to advance (video interview: part 2)". Lithuania Tribune. 15 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
    "Iceland's EU negotiations continue to advance (video interview: part 3)". Lithuania Tribune. 16 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
82. "Withdrawal of the application of Iceland for EU membership (96th measure proposed parliamentary resolution, 141st legislative session 2012-2013)" (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
83. "Referendum to Be Held on Icelandic Constitution". Icelandreview.com. 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
84. Viðræðurnar við ESB verði settar á ís MBL.is Archived 26 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
85. "EU bid causes tension in Iceland government". EUobserver. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2012.
86. Hallur Már Hallsson (18 December 2012). "Ómögulegt að kjósa með málið opið". mbl.is. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
87. "Proposed EU pause submitted" (in Icelandic). MBL.is. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
88. "Iceland Won't Finish EU Talks Before Next Parliament Elections". Businessweek. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
89. "BREAKING NEWS: Iceland to Slow Down EU Talks". Iceland Review. 14 January 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
90. "Icelandic interests best served outside EU" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
91. "Better off outside EU" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 23 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
92. "EU Resolutions at main parties national congresses point each in different directions" (in Icelandic). Mbl.is. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
93. "Þorgerður Katrín vill þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu um ESB-aðildarviðræður samhliða þingkosningum 27". 19 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
94. "Bjarni opnar á Evrópumálin: Skattaleiðin hefur hvergi nokkurstaðar, aldrei nokkurn tímann verið leiðin útúr kreppu". 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
95. "Útilokar ekki tillögu Þorgerðar". 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
96. "Þetta síðasta flipp-flopp breytir engu um að landsfundur flokksins lokaði öllum dyrum til Evrópu". 25 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
97. "Stjórnarsáttmáli kynntur á Laugarvatni". 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
98. "Ríkisstjórnin getur ekki slitið aðildarviðræðum við ESB" (in Icelandic). 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
99. Fox, Benjamin (16 June 2013). "Iceland's EU bid is over, commission told". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
100. "Barroso tells Iceland to make up its mind on joining the EU". EurActiv. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
101. "L'Islande s'éloigne de son projet d'adhésion à l'UE". 23 August 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
102. "Iceland dissolves EU accession team". 13 September 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
103. Valdimarsson, Omar; Christie, Rebecca (16 October 2013). "Iceland Reconsiders EU Snub as Government Awaits Report Findings". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
104. "LIVE EC Midday press briefing of 13/03/2015". European Commission. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
105. Lawless, Jill (7 March 2017). "Iceland gets new govt, could restart talks on entering EU". Associated Press. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
106. "New Icelandic center-right coalition to give parliament vote on EU referendum". Reuters. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
107. Iceland: further from EU membership than ever, euobserver 11 December 2017
108. "Policies > Enlargement > Iceland". Council of the EU. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
109. Screening process concluded Archived 21 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
110. Vogel, Toby (27 June 2011). "Iceland begins talks to join EU". Europeanvoice.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
111. "Second meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Ministerial level (27 June 2011)" (PDF). 27 June 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
112. "First meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Deputy level (19 October 2011)" (PDF). 19 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
113. "Third meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Ministerial level (12 December 2011)" (PDF). 12 December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
114. "Second meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Deputy level (30 March 2012)" (PDF). 30 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
115. "Accession Conference with Iceland: three new chapters opened, progress confirmed" (PDF). 22 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
116. "Accession Conference with Iceland: three new chapters opened, progress confirmed (22 June 2012)" (PDF). 22 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
117. "Third meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at deputy level (24 October 2012)" (PDF). 24 October 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
118. "Fifth meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Ministerial level - Six new chapters opened, one more chapter provisionally closed, substantial progress achieved (18 December 2012)" (PDF). 18 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
119. "Iceland 2012 Progress Report" (PDF). European Commission. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
120. End of screening meeting on Free movement of goods Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
121. "An Important Milestone in Iceland´s EU Accession Talks". Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
122. End of screening meeting on Freedom of Movement For Workers Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
123. First screening meeting between Iceland and the EU over Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
124. "Iceland plan to join EU hinges on fisheries -minister". Reuters. The Globe And Mail. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
125. Screening meeting on Company law concluded yesterday Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
126. "Third meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Ministerial level" (PDF). 12 December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
127. Screening meeting on Intellectual property law concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
128. Screening meeting on Competition policy concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
129. "Second meeting of the Accession Conference with Iceland at Deputy level" (PDF). 30 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
130. Screening meeting on Financial services concluded on Wednesday Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
131. Elena Ralli (24 October 2012). "Iceland one step closer to the EU". Neurope.eu. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
132. Screening meeting on Information society and media concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
133. Screening meeting on Agriculture and rural development concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
134. Screening meeting on Food Safety concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
135. Screening Meeting on Fisheries Concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
136. Screening meeting on energy concluded Archived 21 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
137. Screening Meeting on Taxation concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
138. Screening meeting on Economic and Monetary Policy concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
139. Screening on Social Policy and Employment Concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
140. Screening on enterprise and industrial policy concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
141. Screening on Regional Policy and Coordination of structural instrument concluded Archived 21 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
142. Screening meeting on Judiciary and fundamental rights concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
143. Screening meeting on science and research concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
144. "Screening meeting on education and culture concluded". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
145. Screening meeting on environment concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
146. "Screening meeting on Consumer and Health Protection concluded". Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
147. Screening meeting on Customs Union concluded in Brussels Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
148. Screening meeting on External Relations concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
149. Screening meeting on Financial and Budgetary Provisions concluded Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
150. Excluding chapters 34 (institutions) and 35 (other issues) since these are not legislation chapters.
151. "Ályktun stjórnar Bjartrar framtíðar nr. 1" (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 11 November 2013.
152. "Meiri vinnu, lægri skatta og heilbrigðari stjórnmál!" (PDF). Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn. 26 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
153. "Sjálfstæð utanríkisstefna, félagsleg alþjóðahyggja" (in Icelandic). Left-Green Movement. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2008. Aðild að ESB myndi skerða fullveldi Íslands enn frekar en orðið er með EES-samningnum og tefla í tvísýnu yfirráðum Íslendinga yfir auðlindum sínum.
154. "Evrópusambandið" (in Icelandic). Pirate Party Iceland. 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013. Það er ekki hlutverk stjórnmálaflokka að taka afstöðu með eða á móti aðild en aftur á móti eiga þeir að vera undirbúnir undir hvora niðurstöðuna sem er.
155. "Ályktun um Evrópusambandið". Progressive Party. 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
156. "Iceland's Pirates poll lower than expected in election". Al Jazeera. 30 October 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
157. "The Future of a Country – The Future of a Nation". Social Democratic Alliance. 12–13 April 2007. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
158. "Towards a fairer & healthier society". Samfylkingin (SDA). 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
159. "Stefnuyfirlýsing 2011". Citizen's Movement. 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
160. "Liberal Party rejects EU-membership" (in Icelandic). 14 January 2009. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
161. Fontaine, Paul (31 January 2014). "Most Icelanders Want Vote On Finishing EU Talks". The Reykjavík Grapevine. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
162. "Iceland moves to withdraw EU application". The Hindu. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
163. "Iceland to withdraw EU membership bid amid protests". IceNews. 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
164. Robert, Zoë (25 February 2014). "Three Thousand Protest outside Parliament". Iceland Review. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
165. Robert, Zoë (24 February 2014). "Icelanders Protest Government's Plans to Stop EU Talks". Iceland Review. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
166. Milne, Richard (27 February 2014). "Thousands demand EU referendum in Iceland". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
167. Robert, Zoë (28 February 2014). "Eighty-Two Percent Want EU Referendum". Iceland Review. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
168. Robert, Zoë (28 February 2014). "Forty Thousand Sign EU Referendum Petition". Iceland Review. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
169. Stefánsson, Páll (26 February 2014). "Ten Percent of Icelanders Sign EU Referendum Petition". Iceland Review. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
170. "Iceland can wait and see on EU membership". 6 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
171. "Iceland postpones withdrawal of EU application". EurActiv. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
172. "News". Dagblaðið Vísir (DV) (in Icelandic). 3 May 1999. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
173. "91% vill aðild að ESB". Morganbladid (in Icelandic). 16 March 2002. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
174. Meirihluti hlynntur aðild að ESB, Samtök iðnaðarins, 01.09.2005 (in Icelandic) Archived 17 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
175. Iceland cool on EU membership, EU Observer, 22 February 2006 Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
176. Euro support in Iceland hits five-year high, SI(samtök iðnaðarins(Association for Icelandic industry)), 09.11.2007 (in Icelandic) Archived 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
177. Majority of Icelanders Wants to Join EU IcelandReview, 26 February 2008 Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
178. "70% vilja þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu um ESB". Mbl.is. 18 October 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
179. Innlent » (24 November 2008). "Minnkandi áhugi á ESB-aðild". Mbl.is. Archived from the original on 26 July 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
180. "Samtök iðnaðarins" (PDF). January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
181. "Meirihluti andvígur ESB", visir.is, 26 January 2009. http://visir.is/article/20090126/FRETTIR01/140609051/-1 Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
182. "Bourse – Poll: 64% Of Icelanders favour Talks On EU Membership". Easybourse.com. 9 March 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
183. "Fækkar heldur sem styðja viðræður". Archived from the original on 18 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
184. Mikill meirihluti vill viðræður RÚV, 5.06.2009 Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
185. "Meirihluti vill þjóðaratkvæði um aðildarumsókn". Mbl.is. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
186. "Majority for EU application". Visir.is. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
187. Kirk, Lisbeth (27 July 2009). "Most Icelanders opposed to EU membership". Euobserver.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
188. "Fleiri andvígir en hlynntir ESB-aðild". Mbl.is. 15 September 2009. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
189. Original question: Ef aðild Íslands að Evrópusambandinu (ESB) yrði borin undir þjóðaratkvæði í dag, hvernig telur þú líklegast að þú myndir greiða atkvæði?
190. "29% vilja ganga í ESB". Mbl.is. 5 November 2009. Archived from the original on 7 November 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
191. "Könnun: ESB yrði kolfellt í kosningum". Visir.is. 5 November 2009. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
192. Gunnar Bender (9 February 2011). "Ný könnun Bændasamtakanna: Meirihluti svarenda andvígur aðild að ESB / 33% hlynntir". Pressan.is. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
193. "Gallup poll for SI" (PDF). March 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
194. "Meirihluti vill draga umsókn um aðild til baka". Mbl.is. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
195. "Viðhorf til Evrópusambandsaðildar Íslands". Capacent.is. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
196. "Ný könnun: Stuðningur við aðildarviðræður við ESB fer vaxandin". Eyjan.is. 2 September 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
197. "Most Icelanders want EU membership talks". EurActiv. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
198. "Meirihluti vill halda viðræðum áfram". mbl.is. 24 January 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
199. "Si.is | Viðhorf til Evrópumála er kannað reglulega" (PDF). February 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
200. "Þjóðin klofin vegna Icesave". Vb.is. 17 March 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
201. "57,3% segjast andvíg ESB aðild". Mbl.is. 16 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
202. "Meirihluti vill draga ESB-umsóknina til baka". Mbl.is. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
203. "Vaxandi andstaða við aðild að ESB". Mbl.is. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
204. "Vilja ljúka aðildarviðræðum". mbl.is. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
205. "Fleiri vilja hætta við umsókn". Mbl.is. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
206. "Meirihluti vill kjósa um ESB". Mbl.is. 17 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
207. "Meirihluti vill ljúka ESB-viðræðum". mbl.is. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
208. "Vaxandi andstaða við ESB-aðild". Mbl.is. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
209. "Vilja ekki evru í stað krónu". Mbl.is. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
210. "67% myndu hafna ESB-aðild". Mbl.is. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
211. Innlent » (27 April 2012). "Mikill meirihluti vill ekki í ESB". mbl.is. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
212. "Um 80% kjósenda Sjálfstæðisflokks og Framsóknarflokks andvígir esb aðild". Heimssyn.is. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
213. "Þeim fjölgar sem vilja afturkalla ESB-umsóknina". Mbl.is. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
214. "48,5% vilja ljúka viðræðum við ESB". mbl.is. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
215. "63,3% andvíg inngöngu í ESB". Mbl.is. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
216. "Meirihluti áfram andsnúinn aðild" (in Icelandic). Si.is. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
217. "Ný könnun: 61% vill klára aðildarviðræður við ESB" (in Icelandic). Já Ísland. 18 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
218. "Meirihluti vill halda áfram viðræðum" (in Icelandic). Si.is. 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
219. "Aðildarviðræður við Evrópusambandið" (PDF). Gallup. March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
220. "Majority rejects EU membership". Morgunblaðið. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
221. "Opposition to EU membership on the rise". Iceland Monitor. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
222. "Two-thirds reject EU membership". Iceland Monitor. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
223. "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
224. "Eurostat - Data Explorer".
225. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
226. "Report for Selected Country Groups and Subjects". www.imf.org. Retrieved 26 September 2016.

External links

Official websites

• Iceland's application to the EU, Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs
• Icelandic mission to the EU, Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs
• European Union – Iceland relations, European External Action Service
• European Union delegation to Iceland, European External Action Service
• European Union – Icelandic trade relations, European Commission

News Portal

• All related news on the Icelandic negotiations for EU membership (in Icelandic), MBL

Lobbyist organisations

• Iceland's EU Debate (in Norwegian)
• Evrópusamtökin, cross-political organisation of Icelandic EU supporters (in Icelandic)
• Evrópusamtökin, Euroblog (in Icelandic)
• Heimssýn, the cross-political organisation of Icelandic eurosceptics (in Icelandic)
• Icelandic Pro-EU membership website (in Icelandic)
• Icelandic Anti-EU Membership (in Icelandic)
• Yes-movement of Icelandic EU supporters (in Icelandic)