Kos says 47% support EU membership

Marta Kos, the European Union’s enlargement commissioner, believes Iceland’s referendum last weekend was about EU membership itself, not merely whether to resume accession talks.

Kos said she regretted Iceland’s decision not to return to the accession process. Speaking to journalists outside informal EU Council meetings in Ireland, she said Iceland could still join the bloc later, but that decision rested with Icelanders.

She pointed to a sharp change in public sentiment. In 2010, when Iceland was a genuine candidate country, support for EU membership stood at about 19%, Kos said. In the latest referendum, 47% of Icelanders indicated that they wanted to join the EU. She saw that figure as evidence that support for membership was increasing and that future accession could not be ruled out.

Kos also said misinformation had played an important role in the referendum. She attributed it to both domestic and foreign forces, including forces in the east and the west. When Morgunbladid sought clarification about whom she meant, no answer had arrived by the time of publication.

An EU spokesperson offered only a general response: “Misinformation is generally present in debates about EU enlargement. It is a continuing challenge.”

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Misinformation is generally present in debates about EU enlargement. It is a continuing challenge.