EU Membership Talks: Concerns Over Iceland's Approach

Jón Bjarnason, who served as Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture from 2009 to 2011, voiced concerns that the current Icelandic government may not uphold the same reservations in its European Union accession bid as the previous administration did. He noted that the application, submitted in the summer of 2009 by the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement coalition government, was a matter of significant national importance.

Bjarnason described the 2009 parliamentary vote on applying for EU membership as a momentous decision. He stated that the application was a profoundly serious issue, which he believes was presented as a matter of specific negotiation chapters but ultimately concerned the potential transfer of Iceland's resources and its existence as an independent nation.

The former minister's remarks highlight a potential divergence in approach to EU relations between past and present Icelandic governments. The article suggests that the terms and implications of EU membership, particularly regarding national sovereignty and resource control, remain a sensitive topic in Icelandic politics.

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This application was a profoundly serious matter. It concerned opening the heart of the Icelandic nation to the transfer of its resources and its existence as an independent nation, even though the issue was dressed up in the decorative guise that it was about specific negotiation chapters.