Iceland Vote Shows EU Must Become More Attractive, Wadephul Says

Iceland’s narrow rejection of renewed European Union membership talks has prompted Germany’s foreign minister to question what the bloc needs to offer prospective members.

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That would have been a great chance to become stronger together.

Johann Wadephul said the vote was regrettable because joining negotiations could have given Iceland and the EU “a great chance to become stronger together.” He added that EU membership could not be taken for granted, saying not everyone automatically seeks to join the bloc.

For Wadephul, the result points to a broader challenge. The European Union should examine where it can improve and how it can become more attractive, particularly through the economic prospects it offers. His comments came before he left for Tunisia.

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It is not automatic that everyone seeks to join the European Union.

Icelanders voted by a narrow majority over the weekend against reopening negotiations on EU membership. The talks had been suspended 13 years ago, after disagreements centered largely on fisheries, the island’s biggest and most identity-defining economic sector.

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We need to think about how we can become more attractive.

Wadephul said the EU should not lose sight of its objective of northern enlargement. He named Iceland as a potential member and said Norway would also belong in that vision. He is traveling to Tunisia and then Algeria to strengthen economic and security cooperation amid global upheaval and instability.

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I believe that we should still not lose sight of the goal of northern enlargement of the European Union.