BRUSSELS — Despite a sovereign debt crisis that threatens to tear the European Union
apart, Iceland is speeding ahead on its bid to join the bloc and even
delivered a pep talk Friday to those struggling to hold it together.
Less than two years after starting membership talks in the wake of its
own banking crisis, Iceland has now finished 10 of the 35 “chapters” of
E.U. laws that new members must work their way through – a pace that
Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said was the fastest for any
country since new rules were adopted in 2006.
Iceland’s foreign minister, Ossur Skarpheoinsson, said the country was
“pressing full steam ahead” despite the “depressed” mood in Brussels,
where officials have been trying for more than two years to contain the
sovereign debt crisis that threatens to undermine not only the 17-nation
euro area but the entire 27-nation E.U. itself.
Mr. Skarpheoinsson expressed optimism the crisis would be solved, as
well he should: Each new E.U. member must agree to give up its currency
and adopt the euro eventually.
“It is a vote of confidence, and you are listening to someone who is
coming from a country that has gone through the worst crisis,” Mr.
Skarpheoinsson said at a news conference following the latest round of
membership talks.
He advised the Europeans to face their current difficulties “just like
we in Iceland encounter snow storms: Zip up, pull the hood and brave the
storm. In the end we know that the day returns to calm and sunshine.” (reading between the lines? if you have the balls not to bail out your local banksters)
Iceland was one of the countries hardest hit in 2008 by the global
financial crisis because of its overinflated banking system. The three
largest banks collapsed along with the island’s currency and the economy
plunged into recession. Some economists have argued, however, that the
collapse of its banks, while painful, forced the country to deal with
its problems faster and aided a swifter recovery.
After two years of deep recession, Iceland grew strongly last year. In
April the International Monetary Fund forecast continued growth of
around 2.5 percent this year and next. The country also has been
repaying the loans it got from the I.M.F. and its Nordic neighbors ahead
of schedule.
“Iceland was the first country down, it was the first country up,” Mr.
Skarpheoinsson said. “We are an example of what can be done.”
He and Mr. Fule also expressed optimism that Iceland and the European
Union would be able to find agreement on the most difficult issue still
open between them: managing and sharing the fisheries that supply
Iceland’s biggest export industry.
“In Iceland, of course, everything is about fish,” Mr. Skarpheoinsson said.
No target date has been set for Iceland to join. Croatia is likely to be
next, joining in July 2013 if all the E.U. countries ratify the
accession treaty signed last year. So far, nine of the 27 have done so,
along with Croatia.
On Tuesday E.U. ministers will again discuss opening negotiations with
Montenegro, although that application has been stalled because of
questions about corruption and organized crime.