Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Most Icelanders opposed to EU membership

Less than two weeks after Iceland formally applied to join the European Union, a Capacent Gallup poll published in the country's largest daily, Morgunbladid, has shown that most Icelanders are cold on membership.

A majority of 48.5 percent is now opposed to entering the EU, 34.7 percent of people are in favor and 16.9 percent are undecided, the survey shows. The study was conducted between 16 and 27 July 2009 among 1,273 people.

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

The new poll suggests a swing to the No camp of almost 10 per cent since the last survey, conducted by the same company in spring.

In May, 38.6 percent was opposed to EU membership, 39 percent of people were in favor and 22.4 percent were undecided.

A slim majority in the newly elected Icelandic parliament, the Althing, decided last month (16 July) to back a bid for EU membership.

Iceland's minister of foreign affairs, Ossur Skarphedinsson, submitted the request to his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, representing the Swedish EU presidency, a few days later.

If the EU negotiations go smoothly, Icelanders will eventually be asked to approve accession in a referendum, according to a deal between the political parties in Iceland.

The new opinion poll was published on the same day as news emerged about the reasons behind the financial collapse last year of the country's biggest bank, Kaupthing Bank.

An internal risk analysis report from the bank has been leaked via the WikiLeaks whistleblower website. The text shows how the bank's loan committee lent huge sums to a handful of named companies just two weeks before the system broke down last October.

The biggest loans, which total more than €6 billion, were given to companies who were at the same time major shareholders in the bank.

"The only securities for the loans were the shares themselves. So there was nothing behind this capital," said Vilhjalmur Bjarnason, director of the Iceland Shareholders Association and a lecturer in business at the University of Iceland, according to AP.

Icelanders protest bank repayment package

Almost one year after Iceland's banks collapsed the affair threatens to turn over the government and kick the country's EU bid into the long grass.

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

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