Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Iceland joining the EU the 'only way,' says Bjork

Enigmatic Icelandic pop-star Bjork has said that joining the European Union seems like "the only way" to escape the severe economic crisis her country is undergoing.

The singer made the remark in Brussels, while supporting the United Nations Information Centre for Western Europe's launch of "CoolPlanet2009," a campaign to raise awareness on environmental issues and to mobilise citizens in support of a new climate agreement.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Bjork supports the Cool Planet 2009 initiative, even though she has fire spurting out of her head. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Asked by reporters after the launch of the campaign on Thursday (6 November) whether the crisis required the north Atlantic nation joining the EU, the singer replied: "Right now I would say it looks like it's the only way."

The campaign launch was also backed by Margot Wallstrom, vice-president of the European Commission; Gro Harlem Brundtland, United Nations Special envoy on climate change and Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and current vice-chair of the Club of Madrid.

The centre piece of the campaign will be a website to be launched early 2009 that will include information on climate change and how individuals can act in a climate friendly manner in their daily lives.

The aim is to build a groundswell of support amongst the public ahead of the Copenhagen COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference. The December 2009 conference is expected to establish a new global climate agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires.

Bjork has increasingly taken an interest in the financial crisis and the environment. In late October, she wrote an opinion piece for the Times of London in which she argued that the crisis was the fault of bankers and multinational corporations and that the solution was a return to small-scale environmentally friendly enterprise.

Having spoken to a number of small businesses in Iceland, the singer is now convinced that the euro must be adopted in her home country.

Icelandic small businesses "say that at the top of the list, they need the euro to stabilise the currency, so I would go for that," she said.

She also worried that unemployment on the island could reach 20 percent by the end of the year.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Difficult talks ahead on financing new EU defence spending

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending any time soon, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 March) to discuss how to boost the defence capabilities of Ukraine and of the bloc itself.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. "Swiftly dial back" interest rates, ECB told
  2. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  3. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  4. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  5. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  6. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating
  7. Syrian mayor in Germany speaks out against AfD
  8. Asian workers pay price for EU ship recycling

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us