Iceland and EU officials build case to revive membership talks

In an opinion article published by Morgunblaðið, Björn Bjarnason argues that Icelandic authorities and the European Union’s enlargement leadership have gradually developed a shared narrative about reviving Iceland’s EU membership process.

The relationship became visible after Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir became foreign minister, before the government had presented its proposal for a referendum. With the vote on 29 August now just over a week away, Bjarnason traces a continuing process from the minister’s first visit to Brussels in January 2025 to reports by POLITICO about the European Commission’s interest in Iceland moving quickly to restart the process.

He writes that there is no need to establish who instructed whom, or who first raised individual ideas. In his view, publicly known facts show how Icelandic authorities and the EU’s enlargement leadership have step by step created a common picture of Iceland’s position and what would happen if voters approved restarting membership negotiations.

Application brought back to life in Brussels

Þorgerður Katrín made her first ministerial visit to Brussels in January 2025, where she met, among others, Marta Kos, the EU commissioner for enlargement. The foreign minister did not publicly disclose that the meeting had taken place.

During the visit, an RÚV correspondent spoke with Guillaume Mercier, the enlargement commissioner’s spokesperson. Mercier unexpectedly outlined the European Commission’s position that Iceland’s 2009 membership application was still valid. It had never been formally withdrawn and therefore remained active in legal terms, he said.

Bjarnason describes this as an important political statement. In 2015, the Icelandic government had notified the Council of the EU that it did not intend to continue membership negotiations and that Iceland should no longer be considered a candidate country. The Council was formally informed of Iceland’s position, after which the country was removed from the list of candidate countries.

In January 2025, however, the European Commission chose to interpret the situation differently, maintaining that the application was still active.

This took place in Brussels at the beginning of 2025 without a new decision by Iceland’s parliament and before Icelanders had been consulted. The foreign minister did not object to the interpretation.

Bjarnason writes that this marked the first step in the developing relationship. The enlargement leadership defined Iceland’s status in a way that made a possible revival of the membership process easier, and Iceland’s foreign minister accepted that position.

Von der Leyen confirms the new definition

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a one-day visit to Iceland on 17 July 2025. At a press conference with Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, she said that Iceland’s application was still valid and that the country was in a good position to restart the process.

Her remarks came in response to a question at the press conference and appeared to be incidental. They nevertheless confirmed that the European Commission’s highest level of leadership supported the position previously expressed by Mercier. Iceland’s prime minister did not object to the interpretation.

Once again, no distinction was made between the European Commission’s position and the Council’s formal position from 2015. The Commission considered the application active even though the member states had taken account of Iceland’s wish no longer to be regarded as a candidate country.

No demand for clarification followed. Questions remained over the legal effect of the Icelandic government’s 2015 letter, who had the authority to change Iceland’s status again and whether a new decision by the member states was required.