Iceland formally applied for EU membership on 16 July 2009, in the midst of the economic crisis which hit the small Nordic island hard. The country has a well-developed relationship with the EU as a member of the European Economic Area (see EURACTIV LinksDossier).
On 18 October 2009 Iceland agreed a new deal to repay Britain and the Netherlands billions in deposits lost during the collapse of Icesave, an online bank of Iceland’s Landsbanki. The deal was seen as lifting a hurdle to Iceland’s accession bid.
But on 9 April 2011, Iceland held a referendum, with almost 60% of voters opposing a repayment deal with Britain and the Netherlands. Consequently, London and The Hague announced they would sue Iceland on the Icesave case, in a bid to recover $5 billion (3.46 billion euro).
The European Commission has said it believes the Icesave issue should not affect the country’s EU accession prospects.
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Publish date : 2012-04-17 17:00:00
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