Iceland PM pledges to protect fisheries and farming in EU talks

Iceland must safeguard its interests as the owner of the country’s fish resources if membership negotiations with the European Union resume, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said, according to mbl.is. She also said securing an acceptable outcome for Icelandic agriculture would be a priority.

Frostadóttir made the remarks at a listening meeting in Austurbæjarbíó, where she addressed voters ahead of Saturday’s referendum on whether Iceland should resume EU membership negotiations.

She said concerns about agriculture had repeatedly been raised at listening meetings around the country. One relative had asked whether she could stand by her view that Icelandic agriculture could thrive within the EU.

“Yes, the answer is yes,” Frostadóttir said. “I hear and understand these concerns, and if negotiations with the European Union take place, I will make it an absolute priority to ensure that an acceptable outcome is reached for Icelandic agriculture.”

Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir and former Social Democratic Alliance leader Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir also attended the meeting.

Frostadóttir said Iceland had reached its current position because of the work of previous generations and argued that the country should look for solutions through negotiations.

She said people had asked what EU membership could mean for the economy of ordinary households and small businesses, including whether interest rates could fall and competition increase. She argued that closer economic ties with one of the world’s largest economic blocs could increase productivity and economic growth, lower prices and interest rates, and promote greater stability.

“We can do that, but it requires the courage and willingness to negotiate together for Iceland,” she said.

Frostadóttir also addressed Iceland’s sovereignty, saying it was not a collectable kept in a cabinet while the country isolated itself from the rest of the world. Citing words by Iceland’s first president, Sveinn Björnsson, she said a sovereign nation remained free and independent even when it voluntarily accepted international obligations to improve its own interests.

The meeting was livestreamed, but technical difficulties prevented the broadcast from appearing on mbl.is.