EU says Iceland’s EU membership application remains active

Iceland’s 2009 application to join the European Union remains valid because it was never formally withdrawn, a European Commission spokesperson told mbl.is.

“Iceland’s application for EU membership was never formally withdrawn and is therefore still in force,” the spokesperson said in response to a query from the news outlet.

The spokesperson declined to comment on how far the Commission would have been prepared to go in granting Iceland exemptions from the EU’s common fisheries policy.

Asked whether the referendum result last Saturday would affect cooperation under the European Economic Area agreement, the spokesperson said Iceland remained a close partner of the EU.

“Iceland remains a close partner of the European Union. We will continue to work with Iceland on the basis of our excellent relationship,” the spokesperson said.

mbl.is also requested a response from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, but had not received one.

Icelandic voters rejected restarting membership talks with the EU over the weekend. The no vote won with 52.8 per cent of the vote, while 47.2 per cent voted yes.