Hannan urges Icelanders to reject renewed EU talks

British Lord Daniel Hannan, who served as a Conservative member of the European Parliament for more than 20 years, is urging Icelanders to reject renewed accession talks with the European Union, mbl.is reports. He says there is no clear reason for Iceland to join the bloc.

In an article for the British newspaper The Telegraph, Hannan described the proposal to restart accession talks as strange in itself. Iceland’s gross domestic product per capita is considerably higher than the EU average, he wrote, meaning the country would become a significant net contributor to the bloc’s common funds.

He cited remarks by a Brussels official to Politico that it would be convenient if Iceland and Montenegro joined on the same day, because Iceland could pay for Montenegro.

A different debate

Hannan said the debate in Iceland differs from the one in Britain. In the United Kingdom, membership has primarily concerned access to the market, since about 40 percent of British exports still go to EU countries, although that share is declining.

“There is no such dispute in Iceland: through membership of the European Economic Area, Iceland has entered the internal market in everything except agriculture and fisheries,” he wrote.

“At the same time, Iceland is not part of the customs union, which means it negotiates its own trade agreements with countries outside Europe. Partly through EFTA, it has secured agreements with several countries that the EU has not, including China, Indonesia and Malaysia.”

Four changes

Hannan said that full EU membership would bring four changes. First, Iceland would begin contributing to EU funds. Citing calculations by American economist Dan Mitchell, he estimated the cost at the equivalent of 400 US dollars per Icelander, or more than 49,000 Icelandic krónur.

Second, Iceland would have to set aside its free trade agreements. Third, it would join the EU’s common agricultural policy, remove tariffs on goods from EU countries and raise them against the rest of the world.

Fourth, Iceland would join the EU’s common fisheries policy. The country’s fish stocks would then be defined in the bloc’s treaties as a “common resource”, to which all member states would have equal access.

“All four of these changes are obviously for the worse. It is difficult to see how even the most optimistic Europhile could sell them as improvements. The last is particularly important in a place that defines itself as the only developed country where fisheries are a significant part of the economy.”

Hannan said Icelanders probably have the best-managed fish stocks in the world, supported by a smart quota system that encourages conservation while by-products are used in cosmetics and medicines.

“Many Icelanders who have never set foot aboard a trawler nevertheless feel that the icy waters of the North Atlantic run through their veins,” he wrote.

He asked why anyone would want to move closer to Brussels, noting that some Icelanders would naturally benefit from membership as officials or members of the European Parliament.