Mogensen rejects EU membership as answer to Iceland’s problems

Entrepreneur Skúli Mogensen says Iceland’s current problems would not be solved automatically by joining the European Union or adopting the euro, mbl.is reports. He set out his opposition to both in a Facebook post published on Thursday.

Mogensen argues that Iceland currently compares favourably internationally. He points to the country’s position among the wealthiest and most economically equal OECD countries, as well as high labour-force participation, generally low unemployment, strong social mobility and widespread home ownership.

He warns against viewing EU membership as a guaranteed path to stability, citing problems facing several member states, including declining employment in German industry, high youth unemployment in Spain and controversial changes to the retirement age in France. In his view, these examples show that neither the euro nor EU membership guarantees job security or unchanged living standards.

Mogensen also highlights Iceland’s future prospects, including large and sustainable fisheries resources, renewable energy and what he describes as one of the world’s strongest pension systems. He says these strengths are particularly important as Western countries face ageing populations and population decline.

He adds that domestic issues, especially declining performance in primary education, represent a more serious challenge to Iceland’s future than EU membership. He says rising inflation and housing problems would not be resolved automatically by joining the union.

His post ends with a call for Icelanders to stand together and reject membership rather than “sacrifice independence” because of temporary difficulties.