Hilmar Veigar explains shift on Iceland’s EU membership

Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, the head of Frenris Solutions, formerly CCP, has changed his view on Iceland joining the European Union. He will explain why in an extra episode of mbl.is’s Spursmál programme, available to everyone at 2pm on Monday.

Hilmar Veigar was previously convinced that Iceland should join the EU. In 2014, he argued strongly that the country should continue membership negotiations and adopt the euro instead of the Icelandic króna.

Last week, he gave a speech at an event organised by Áfram Ísland that focused on Icelandic innovation companies and their opportunities inside and outside the EU.

Hilmar Veigar moved to Britain around the time Brexit had recently taken place. He says the experience there showed him that if Iceland joined the EU, it would never be able to leave again.

In the interview, he will also discuss his view that “looking inside the package” would divert attention from urgent issues in Icelandic society and prevent the country from seizing extraordinary opportunities, particularly in the intellectual property industry.