Former MP urges government to look in mirror over EU talks

Sigríður María Egilsdóttir, a lawyer and former substitute MP for the Viðreisn political party, has urged Iceland’s government to “look in the mirror” over its approach to continued negotiations with the European Union. She made the remarks at an outdoor meeting organised by Áfram Ísland at Austurvöllur, mbl.is reported.

Sigríður said she intended to vote against continuing the accession talks, a position that would have surprised her until recently.

“Because for a long time I was positive towards the European Union,” she said.

She said her “no” vote was directed at the government’s process and the way it had presented that process to the public. The government was asking for a mandate to represent Icelanders “in one of the most important negotiating rounds in Iceland’s history”, she said.

“When seeking such a mandate, you first and foremost need to earn the trust of the nation. You need to show that you are an honest representative of the people, a representative who puts the evidence on the table, including the uncomfortable parts,” Sigríður said.

She added that anyone seeking such a mandate needed to speak to the public as adults.

“There was enough time. These elections have been known about since the government joined forces. More than a year of dialogue could have taken place. But what came of it? ‘Let’s look inside the package’, ‘yes to see’,” she said.

Sigríður said the government’s campaign had focused on saying as little as possible in simple terms while postponing any substantive discussion about the European Union.

She said the “package” was the European Union itself, along with “non-negotiable changes”. She argued that the European Court of Justice, rather than Iceland’s Supreme Court, would have the final say, and that EU rules would acquire legal force in Iceland without being passed by Alþingi, Iceland’s parliament.

She also said Iceland would not be negotiating with the European Union alone, as the union’s most capable team would also take part in the talks.

“In response, the government sends our people, equipped with slogans about packages, curiosity and vague promises of special solutions,” she said.

Sigríður said conversations with supporters of joining the EU had led her to believe that many were more tired of politicians than driven by an unwavering love of Brussels.

“Brussels is not the answer to that fatigue. Brussels is simply more. If you are unhappy with politicians, the solution is not more politicians. If you are unhappy with the system, the solution is not more system,” she said.

“The solution is to make demands and start here at home.”

She said the government needed to look in the mirror and, if it saw people who were not up to the task, return the mandate rather than the country.