First screening meeting between Iceland and the EU
The first screening between Iceland and the EU on chapter 6, Public procurement, was concluded in Brussels. At the meeting, which began this morning, experts from Iceland and the European Union compared the legislation of chapter five, which includes general principles of transparency, equal treatment, free competition and non-discrimination.
The objective of the meeting was to verify its adoption into Icelandic legislation but chapter five is part of the EEA-Agreement and Iceland has already fully adopted it . If Iceland joins the EU after a national referendum, regulations on public procurement would remain the same.
17. Nov. 2010 kl.21:35
EU concludes a report on Iceland’s accession process
The European Commission has published its progress report on Iceland accession process. The report assesses both economic and political development in Iceland from February to October 2010, and reviews the topics that need to be dealt with in the upcoming accession negotiations.
13. Nov. 2010 kl.12:32
More
More
EU Commissioner for Enlargement satisfied with Iceland’s Answers to EU Questionnaire.
The European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, is satisfied with the answers Icelandic authorities provided to the European Commission’s 2,500 questions in relation to their application for EU membership, submitted two months ago.
03. Des. 2009 kl.20:27
More
More
First meeting held by the Icelandic negotiation committee
The first meeting by the Icelandic negotiation committee in the upcoming EU accession discussions was held today in Reykjavik. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ossur Skarphedinsson, led the first meeting but its chairman is Ambassador Stefan Haukur Johannesson.
11. Nov. 2009 kl.23:12
More
More
Iceland forms their EU negotiation committee
The Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs appointed Iceland’s negotiation committee for the upcoming accession negotiations with the EU today. Ambassador Stefan Haukur Johannesson will serve as the Chief negotiator and will front the negotiation committee.
04. Nov. 2009 kl.20:24
More
More
EU questionnaire finished today - Icelandic negotiation committee not formed until December or January
A questionnaire in relation to Iceland’s membership application to the European Union, presented to Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir by European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn in September, is set to be ready today.
16. Okt. 2009 kl.08:36
More
More
Iceland and Croatia possibly taken into the EU at the same time
Iceland and Croatia are likely to be accepted into the EU at the same time, according to Olli Rehn, Commissioner of Enlargement. Rehn said in order for this to happen the Icelandic authorities must prepare necessary arrangements quick.
14. Okt. 2009 kl.22:21
More
More
Ireland approves the Lisbon Treaty - Iceland´s accession process to be quicker?
The Lisbon Treaty will be good grounds for enlargement affairs issues as the EU is considered now more likely to honor the commitments it made to the western Balkan countries. The newly Irish voting will likely speed up enlargement to Iceland as well. Last time when Ireland voted they left EU´s enlargement process in confusion. Now already, the accession process with Croatia is back on track.
06. Okt. 2009 kl.19:37
More
More
EU opens an Icelandic department
The Office of the Commissioner of Enlargement has established an Icelandic Department due to Iceland’s application for EU membership.
25. Sept. 2009 kl.11:12
More
More
Spain supports Iceland’s accession and sees it as a member next year.
The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Angel Moratinos, stated yesterday in Reykjavik that he hoped EU accession talks with Iceland could be completed during Spain's EU presidency which ends in June 2010.
18. Sept. 2009 kl.12:04
More
More
Iceland waits for an Icesave conclusion
Poul Thomsen, chairman of the Iceland delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), believes that Iceland has hit the bottom of its economic tribulations. However, there are no indications that the IMF's board will address Iceland's issue in this month, as had been anticipated. Iceland's agreement with the IMF was signed last November, but its first review has been postponed for a half year.
17. Sept. 2009 kl.16:47
More
More
Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to publish EU answers on its webpage
Publication on Iceland’s answers to EU´s questionnaire will be put on the official webpage of the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some of the answers might contain sensitive information on domestic security issues of the state as well as defensive issues.
15. Sept. 2009 kl.10:52
More
More
Iceland’s EU accession process should be quick
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said today, after a meeting with Fredrik Reinfeldt, Sweden´s Prime Minister, that he hoped that the process to approve Iceland as a candidate country would be quick.
14. Sept. 2009 kl.22:25
More
More
Ambassador Gunnar Snorri Gunnars to lead negotiations for Iceland’s accession to the European Union
According to Pressan.is sources from the Icelandic authorities, Gunnar Snorri Gunnarsson, Iceland’s Ambassador to China and a former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iceland, will be leading negotiations for Iceland’s accession to the EU.
10. Sept. 2009 kl.00:40
More
More
EU questionnaire for Iceland made public
The questionnaire, presented yesterday by the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, to the Icelandic Prime Minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, has now been made public on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iceland.
09. Sept. 2009 kl.20:33
More
More
The European Perspective of Iceland - Remarks by EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
Yesterday, Iceland received a questionnaire from the EU Commission which will assess Iceland‘s readiness to join the union. The Commissioner of Enlargement, Olli Rehn, handed in the documents and had meetings with the Government as well giving a lecture today at the University of Iceland where he stated that there would be no shortcut for Iceland to the union. Iceland hopes to initiate accession negotiations early in the next year and aims to join the EU by 2012.
09. Sept. 2009 kl.15:36
More
More
The Commission hands over EU questionnaire
Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement, today delivered Iceland’s Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir with a questionnaire estimating the country’s readiness to fulfil EU membership obligations.
08. Sept. 2009 kl.20:11
More
More
Olli Rehn, Commissioner of Englargement Affairs, visits Iceland
September 9, Olli Rehn, Commission of Enlargement Affairs, will give a lecture on EU´s perspective towards Iceland in connection to its application.
03. Sept. 2009 kl.16:48
More
More
Irishmen to lead the EP´s delegation to Iceland during its negotiation process
Ireland North West MEP Pat "The Cope" Gallagher will in September be put in as leader of the European Parliament’s delegation to Iceland that will handle political relations during its membership negotiations.
25. Agu. 2009 kl.20:54
More
More
Majority support for EU accession talks
Frettabladid newspaper in Iceland conducted a poll two days ago that was released today indicating 51% being in favour of beginning accession negotiations with the EU.
30. Jul. 2009 kl.14:56
More
More
Application sent to the Commission for its opinion; signalling the formal start of Iceland’s accession process.
EU’s foreign ministers, the Council, decided today to forward Iceland’s EU’s accession application to the European Commission for its opinion after discussing EU’s enlargement policy with respect to Iceland’s accession application.
27. Jul. 2009 kl.16:08
More
More
Lithuania, Finland and Hungary support Iceland’s application
Today, the Lithuanian Parliament unanimously accepted supported fully Iceland’s membership application to join the European Union today. At the same time, the parliament encouraged other member states to accept Iceland’s application.
24. Jul. 2009 kl.19:09
More
More
Iceland’s EU application depends on good solution on fisheries
Iceland's hope to join the EU within three years depend precisely on achieving excellent fishing terms from the union. This is not only considered common sense among Icelanders but has also been stated by Iceland's foreign minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson, yesterday right after he formally passed in Iceland’s membership application to EU’s presidency host, Sweden.
24. Jul. 2009 kl.10:51
More
More
Iceland has formally applied to join the European Union and hopes to join within three years.
Iceland’s Foreign Minister, Ossur Skarphedinsson, submitted the request to his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, during a ceremony in Stockholm today.
"This is the day when I have the historic duty to hand in formally the Icelandic application to the European Union," Mr Skarphedinsson said.
23. Jul. 2009 kl.19:00
More
More
EU application handed in; the next steps
Iceland’s application to the EU has now been presented formally to the Swedish authorities that are holding the Presidency of the EU for the next six months.
17. Jul. 2009 kl.15:32
More
More
President of the European People’s Party welcomes Iceland’s decision.
Wilfried Martens, the President of the European People’s Party (EPP, Europe’s centre-right political family), welcomed the decision of Iceland to formally hand in an application for EU membership. In his statement he mentioned how strongly he believes Iceland should be part of the EU.
17. Jul. 2009 kl.11:07
More
More
The European Commission welcomes Iceland´s decision
The European Commission welcomed today the parliamentary vote for Iceland to join the EU and added that it anticipated the formal application during the current presidency.
16. Jul. 2009 kl.16:19
More
More
Iceland accepts to send an application for an EU membership
A resolution on Iceland starting accession negotiations with the EU has been passed. The resolution provides for a referendum to be held on the proposed accession treaty following the conclusion of the accession negotiations.
16. Jul. 2009 kl.14:01
More
More
Iceland votes today
Althingi, the Icelandic parliament did not finish its debate on the EU resolution last night as had been anticipated and therefore the voting was postponed until today.
16. Jul. 2009 kl.10:56
More
More
Iceland's parliament votes on EU parliamentary resolutions today.
Althingi, the parliament in Iceland, will vote later today on whether the country will apply for an EU accession and therefore start negotiations with the union on becoming a future member.
The Committee on Foreign Affairs in the parliament agreed to wrap up the second round of discussion of the EU application resolution today, but the discussion lasted until midnight yesterday.
15. Jul. 2009 kl.14:15
More
More
Iceland might submit an EU application in July.
PM’s of the Social Democrats, the party leading Iceland’s coalition government and headed by Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, plans to formally submit an application for Iceland's membership to the European Union in Brussels on July 27, at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers.
10. Jul. 2009 kl.17:01
More
More
Committee on Foreign affairs finishes its debate on EU membership application.
Today, July 9, Iceland shifted closer towards a resolution on applying for membership in the European Union after the committee on foreign affairs finished its discussions on the government's and the opposition’s parliamentary resolution proposals.
09. Jul. 2009 kl.14:24
More
More
64 documents connected to the Icesave dispute made available
On July 30 the Government of Iceland (GOI) announced it would be making public 64 documents connected to the Icesave dispute, and that 24 more documents would be made available to MPs. The 64 documents have now been made available, along with the Loan Agreements with the UK and the Netherlands on a website operated by the Office of the Icelandic Prime Minister.
03. Jul. 2009 kl.16:22
More
More
Iceland to join the EU before Croatia?
Croatia is facing a reality check after the Czech Republic, being in the EU presidency for the first half of 2009, decided to cancel accession talks with Croatia for an unknown time. The reason is an 18 year old border dispute with Slovenia that the latter country insists be resolved before the accession negotiations continue.
30. Jun. 2009 kl.21:28
More
More
The Nordics express positive remarks towards Iceland’s EU accession
Prime Minister of Iceland, Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir, stated after a meeting in Iceland recently with her colleagues from the other Nordic countries that they were positive towards Iceland’s preparation to apply for European Union membership. “I think all of them had favourable feedbacks towards our meetings,” Sigurdardóttir said.
18. Jun. 2009 kl.16:44
More
More
Iceland initiates steps towards EU membership
Recently the Government of Iceland presented a proposal to the parliament on authorising it to start talks on European Union membership, the initial formal tentative step towards joining the union.
10. Jun. 2009 kl.22:01
More
More
EuroOffice-Iceland's opening
Today a reception was held to mark the formal opening of EuroOffice-Iceland in Reykjavik.
05. Jun. 2009 kl.20:03
More
More