Iceland would be net EU payer, minister says

Iceland would be a net contributor to the European Union if it joined, Infrastructure Minister Eyjólfur Ármannsson told mbl.is. He said his ministry had not analysed how much Iceland would pay towards infrastructure in EU countries or how much it could receive in return, and said he could not comment on an analysis by Konráð Guðjónsson.

“It is clear that, given how wealthy Iceland is in terms of national output per person, Iceland will be a net payer into the European Union. That is entirely clear,” Ármannsson said.

He said Iceland was unusual compared with mainland Europe because it has a small population spread across a large country. Iceland also has a substantial infrastructure deficit, he said, adding that the road system in rural areas was less developed than on the European mainland.

Ármannsson said it was not impossible that infrastructure could be addressed in potential EU accession negotiations. However, he said Iceland would clearly, like other wealthy EU member states today, contribute to development funds that support infrastructure in countries such as Spain, Poland and poorer EU member states.

He said the People’s Party opposed EU membership and that he supported the party’s position. He cited sovereignty, fisheries and other issues as factors behind that stance.

Asked whether the party believed it was serving vested interests through its position, as has been alleged about opponents of EU membership, Ármannsson rejected the claim.

“No, we are not,” he said with a smile. He added that he considered it a sign of a lack of substantive arguments when opponents were portrayed in a negative light, as he said had happened on both sides of the debate during the summer.