Eirikur Bergmann says EU debate is about Iceland’s place in Europe

Political scientist Eirikur Bergmann says the debate over the European Union is fundamentally about a larger question than the euro, interest rates or individual negotiating issues, according to mbl.is. He told Morgunbladid’s Dagmál programme that it is primarily a question of where Icelanders believe the country belongs.

“This is an existential question. It is about where people believe Iceland belongs,” Eirikur said.

He said the issue was whether Iceland should be part of the political cooperation chosen by European countries, or remain more on the sidelines and connect with Europe primarily on commercial terms.

“The answer to this question cannot be found in any report. The answer is found only within you,” he said.

Tension in Icelandic identity

Eirikur said the debate had deep historical roots. During the 19th-century independence movement, two strong and partly opposing ideas emerged about Iceland’s position.

“One desire is for Iceland simply to be an independent state and never again submit to a foreign state,” he said.

At the same time, there was also a strong demand for Iceland to be recognised as a modern state standing on an equal footing with other nations.

“There is a certain tension between these two aspects of the political identity, and that is exactly the tension we are seeing in the debate,” Eirikur said.

“Neither heaven nor hell”

Eirikur criticised what he described as an overly simplified, black-and-white approach to the EU debate.

“What I dislike most about this debate […] is that the issue is constantly being reduced,” he said.

He said it was possible to see both advantages and disadvantages to membership and argued that it was wrong to present the issue as having only one obvious answer.

“This is not a black-and-white issue. The European Union is neither heaven nor hell,” he said.

In his view, Iceland is already part of European cooperation through the EEA. The question is therefore not whether Iceland should have ties with Europe, but what kind of ties those should be.

“Should we be there? Yes, we have to be there, but the question is simply how,” he said.