Sigríður Andersen urges Iceland to defend its position on Protocol 35

Sigríður Andersen says Iceland should mount a full defence of its current arrangements on Protocol 35, arguing there is no need to implement the proposed change to the EEA Agreement, Morgunblaðið reports.

The Centre Party’s parliamentary group leader discussed the issue with Independence Party MP Sigurður Örn Hilmarsson on the Dagmál programme, hosted by Andrés Magnússon. Andersen said she does not believe there is a real problem in EEA cooperation that requires the legislative change proposed by the foreign minister.

She also questioned whether Iceland’s Supreme Court would allow a precedence clause in general legislation to override clear provisions in newer laws.

Andersen said the matter increasingly appeared to be about image and politicians trying to escape pressure by appearing to take action. She argued that Iceland should defend its current arrangements before the EFTA Court, using arguments the government sent to the EFTA Surveillance Authority in 2019 and 2020.

“We should mount a full defence and get our most capable people to present it,” she said.

Sigurður Örn took a different view. He rejected the idea that Iceland was in an “abusive relationship” with the European Union or was simply being ordered around. He said the task was to implement the international legal obligations Iceland had accepted, and that Parliament must decide how to do so.