Iceland's Parliament votes in favour of applying for EU membership

The Parliament of Iceland voted today in favour of applying for membership of the European Union. This follows a resolution proposal submitted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ossur Skarphedinsson, to Parliament on 28 May 2009, in which the Parliament mandates the Icelandic Government to put forward an application. The resolution passed with 33 in favour, 28 against, and 2 abstentions. Parliamentarians from all five political parties voted in favor of the resolution.

The opinion submitted with the resolution states that the Government shall be guided by the majority opinion of the Foreign Affairs Committee on working methods and matters of important interests in its preparation and organization for future EU accession negotiations. A summary of the opinion is attached.

"This is a historic day for Iceland," said Foreign Minister Skarphedinsson. "As a European nation already deeply integrated into European structures as a member of EFTA (1970) and of the EU´s internal market through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (1994), we now look forward to taking the next logical step, in close cooperation with our European partners."

Unofficial Synopsis of the Report from the Committee on Foreign Relations can be found here