Iceland moves towards joining the EU

[Zanza]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8153139.stm

Icelandic MPs back EU entry bid
Iceland's parliament in session, 16 July
Observers were expecting a close vote

Parliament in Iceland has voted to set in motion an application to join the European Union after five days of exhaustive debate.

Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir of the Social Democrats has also been pushing for the adoption of the euro as the Nordic country's currency.

The bid must now be approved by the EU, after which Iceland's people will be asked to vote on it in a referendum.

Opponents of the bid fear EU quotas could hurt Iceland's fishing industry.

Correspondents say Iceland, with a population of just 320,000, has traditionally been sceptical about joining the EU.

But many people there have warmed to the idea of membership following the devastating economic meltdown which saw the top Icelandic banks collapse in a matter of days last year.

[Valmy]

Europa united, strong, and free.

[BVN]

They are welcome to join as far as I'm concerned.

[HVC]

Now that they're poor they want in. Selfish bastards.

[Cerr]

Time to make them give up whale hunting. 

[Josquius]

Turkey aint gonna like this....But I welcome it.

[Richard Hakluyt]

After all their misfortunes I think the Icelanders deserve a bit of coddling from the EU.

[Viking]

It's about time Iceland (and Norway for that matter) stop the free ride and actually get themselves a EU Comissioner and some EU Parliamentarians. Cause the only real changes for Iceland will be this.

A) We can get rid of our Monopoly Money Currency and adopt the Euro (EU membership is a pre-condition for adoption)
B) We now get a say in how the EU is run, PRE-NICE TREATY. So we can sabotage the whole thing by means of Veto.
C) We can join the CAP and now German taxpayers can fund our bankrupt agriculture rather than Icelandic taxpayers.
D) We have to let Spanish and Portugese trawlers rape our fisheries. Eh, probably not, look at B).

[Zanza]

B) We now get a say in how the EU is run, PRE-NICE TREATY. So we can sabotage the whole thing by means of Veto.

I don't understand that point. Can you elaborate what you mean? 

[Admiral Yi]

Sure let them in, only after they agree to properly share* their fishing grounds.





* EU sharing involves allowing 2nd/3rd rank members to devastate your fishing stocks.

That's the tradeoff isn't it?  A couple billion dollars in exchange for killing all their fish.

What I don't get is how the elimination of Mediterranean tuna is not a bigger deal in supposedly eco friendly Europe.

[Admiral Yi]

After all their misfortunes I think the Icelanders deserve a bit of coddling from the EU.

[Zanza]

That's the tradeoff isn't it?  A couple billion dollars in exchange for killing all their fish.

What I don't get is how the elimination of Mediterranean tuna is not a bigger deal in supposedly eco friendly Europe.

I admit that I don't know much about either EU fisheries policy or tuna in the Mediterranean. I guess it's just not a topic that gets much media attention, because it is not "sexy".

[The Brain]

We shouldn't let them in. We need an alibi vs Turkey.

[Viking]

B) We now get a say in how the EU is run, PRE-NICE TREATY. So we can sabotage the whole thing by means of Veto.

I don't understand that point. Can you elaborate what you mean? 

The EU is trying to implement the Nice Treaty (without complete success), the most important bit in the Nice treaty is majority voting rather than unanimity. Basically the idea is to prevent east european ministates from hijacking the EU just because they are EU skeptics *cough*Czech Republic*cough*. Should the Nice Treaty continue to be delayed and Iceland (being a better EU Citizen already through the EEA Treaty than any state south of the alps) can be fast tracked in before the Nice Treaty.

I'd watch out for terms for entry that require Iceland to accept the Nice Treaty whatever it's final form might be regardless and the right of the Icelandic coast guard to sink any portugese or spanish registered ships they can find.

[Cerr]

B) We now get a say in how the EU is run, PRE-NICE TREATY. So we can sabotage the whole thing by means of Veto.

I don't understand that point. Can you elaborate what you mean? 

The EU is trying to implement the Nice Treaty (without complete success), the most important bit in the Nice treaty is majority voting rather than unanimity. Basically the idea is to prevent east european ministates from hijacking the EU just because they are EU skeptics *cough*Czech Republic*cough*. Should the Nice Treaty continue to be delayed and Iceland (being a better EU Citizen already through the EEA Treaty than any state south of the alps) can be fast tracked in before the Nice Treaty.

I'd watch out for terms for entry that require Iceland to accept the Nice Treaty whatever it's final form might be regardless and the right of the Icelandic coast guard to sink any portugese or spanish registered ships they can find.

I think you mean the Lisbon Treaty not the Nice Treaty.