Denmark supports Iceland's EU aspirations

Össur Skarphéðinsson Minister of Foreign Affairs in Iceland and Villy Søvndal the newly appointed Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with Denmark's new Minister for European Affairs, Nikolai Wammen, met today at the sidelines of the Nordic Council Session in Copenhagen.

The Ministers discussed  Iceland ´s accession process to the European Union but two negotiation chapters were concluded last October. Furthermore, the Ministers discussed the upcoming Danish presidency in the EU which begins in January. Iceland has declared her ambition to open all outstanding chapters in the negotiations under the Danish presidency.

The Danish Minister for European Affairs, Nikolai Wammen, declared Denmark's full support of Iceland's application for EU membership and emphasized the importance of maintaining the momentum in the negotiation process. The Ministers also discussed the situation  in the Euro Area and EU actions to respond to debt crisis within individual EU states.

The Icelandic Foreign Minister and Villy Søvndal also discussed the situation in Palestine and the common interests in the Arctic region.