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June 06, 2005
Iceland and the European Union
Hjörtur J. Gumundsson, editor of EU Related News From Iceland, posted "a speech by Björn Bjarnason, Minister of Justice and chairman of the special Committee on Europe, at a meeting held by the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels May 31, 2005. Mr, Bjarnason, whose subject was Iceland and European integration, said, among other things: Iceland is one of the few European countries where there has never been a referendum on any European issue and when invited to address you here today, ladies and gentlemen, I considered it might be of value to you if I tried to answer two questions often put to us Icelanders here in Brussels: Why is Iceland not a member of the European Union? and What prevents Iceland from applying for membership in the European Union?
He said, "When The Financial Times speculated about our meeting with the Commissioner for enlargement it kindly said: "The affluent island wouldn't be a problem for the EU to absorb, particularly when compared with aspirants such as Albania and Bosnia. But would Reykjavik be ready to take the plunge? Maybe, if the island spells the end to the EU's constitutional headache, Brussels would make it an offer it couldn't refuse. Those Icelandic fish could be safe for a while yet." Here's the entire speech, thanks to Mr. Gumundsson.
Posted by Munir Umrani at June 6, 2005 08:44 PM
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