96-620: This is a list of referendums related to the European Union , or referendums related to the European Communities , which were predecessors of the European Union . Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states , candidate states, and their territories, with several additional referendums held in countries outside the EU. The referendums have been held most commonly on
192-614: A referendum . However, under Icelandic law, it is not the Government but the Icelandic Parliament which decides to end negotiations. On 13 June, Iceland's Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson informed the European Commission that the newly elected government intended to "put negotiations on hold". European Commission President Manuel Barroso responded on 16 July 2013 by requesting that the new Icelandic Prime Minister make
288-732: A 50-year limit and thus expired in 2002; all its activities are now absorbed into the European Community. The EAEC had no such limit and thus continues to exist. Given that nuclear power is a very sensitive issue for the European electorate, the Euratom Treaty has gone without amendment since its signing, and was not even to be changed with the European Constitution intended to repeal all other treaties (the Constitution's replacement,
384-461: A decision on the continuation of their accession bid "without further delay", and stressed that the EU remained "committed to continue the accession negotiations process, which I'm certain could address Iceland's specificities". In August 2013 the Icelandic government revealed that it had received a legal opinion that the 2009 Parliamentary vote did not oblige it to continue accession negotiations with
480-640: A grouping of four non-EU European countries, and is also part of the European Economic Area (EEA). Through the EEA, Iceland participates with a non-voting status in certain EU agencies and programmes, including enterprise, environment, education (including the Erasmus Programme ) and research programs. Iceland also contributes funds to "social and economic cohesion" in the EU/EEA. Iceland also frequently consults
576-534: A list of 2,500 questions to Iceland about its fulfilment of political and economic criteria and adoption of EU law. Iceland returned answers to them on 22 October 2009. On 2 November, Iceland selected a chief negotiator for the membership negotiations with the EU: Stefán Haukur Jóhannesson , Iceland's Ambassador to Belgium . In January 2010 the Icesave dispute became an issue. The United Kingdom and
672-546: A major defeat in the parliamentary elections that were held on 27 April 2013, while the centrist Progressive Party had a large victory. The leaders of the Progressive Party and the Independence Party began negotiating the formation of a coalition government, and on 22 May it was announced that a coalition platform had been agreed to that would suspend all accession talks with the EU and not resume them unless approved by
768-468: A national referendum in Iceland and require ratification by every EU state. [REDACTED] From 1995 to 2007 the government coalition of the conservative Independence Party ( Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn ) and the conservative Progressive Party ( Framsóknarflokkurinn ), opposed joining the EU, while the opposition Social Democratic Alliance ( Samfylkingin ) supported membership negotiations. In 1994,
864-411: A parliamentary majority on the issue, despite the official opposition to talks by one of her coalition partners. She went on to say that she expected an official application to be submitted no later than July 2009. This seemed to leave Iceland on course to join the EU along with Croatia in 2011, as predicted by EU Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn . The government has stated that the issue will be put to
960-408: A portion of Iceland's foreign invested pension funds—Iceland having been particularly hard hit by the financial crisis of September 2008 —the unions demanded that Iceland apply for EU membership in return for wage restraint . On 30 October 2008, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir , minister of education, said that "Iceland has to define its long-term national interests and part of that is a revision of
1056-487: A referendum. Croatia was admitted as a member of the EU, acceding on 1 July 2013. A referendum was held in San Marino on whether the country should submit an application to join the European Union as a full member state . The Unified Patent Court is a proposed court between several EU member states, that, inter alia, is to be constituted for litigation related to the European Union patent . Countries which seek to join
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#17328591153911152-417: A report being prepared by the government on negotiations and "the recent changes within the union" was completed, expected to be by the end of 2013. Benediktsson went on to say that "we will see if a proposal will be put before the parliament or not." On 12 March 2015, Foreign Minister of Iceland Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson stated that he had sent a letter to the EU withdrawing the application for membership, without
1248-401: A shelter provider to Iceland. The Europhiles mainly focused on the potential economic benefits of EU membership and the adoption of the euro, emphasizing the benefits of cheaper goods for consumers and enterprises, and access to aid from the EU structural funds for rural areas, agriculture and the tourism industry. There was, however, no mention of the EU as a soft security shelter provider. After
1344-483: A speedy economic recovery and considerable domestic opposition to membership, the application was put on hold in 2013. At present, the Icelandic government does not regard the country as a candidate to join the EU, though it has not withdrawn its membership application. Iceland's membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Schengen provide Iceland with partial political, economic and societal shelter but it
1440-535: A vote once an accession agreement has been negotiated. The motion to file an application for membership was officially introduced in parliament on 25 May 2009. Voting was to have been held on 13 July, but was postponed until 16 July. First, a proposal by the Independence Party to hold a referendum on the membership application was defeated by 32 to 30 with one abstention. Then the Social Democratic Alliance's proposal to apply for membership immediately
1536-427: Is dealt with by separate bilateral agreements. Iceland is legally bound to implement into its own law all EU directives applicable to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital . This is complemented by regular meetings between EU and Icelandic officials, including a twice-yearly meeting of EEA foreign ministers. 78% of Iceland's exports went to the EU and 52% of Iceland's imports came from it, making
1632-468: Is not to join in the foreseeable future. We are not even exploring membership." In a speech at a conference at the University of Iceland on 31 March 2006, Geir Haarde repeated what he had said on a number of occasions—that no special Icelandic interests demanded membership of the EU. In the same speech he further explained in detail why it would not be in the interest of Iceland to adopt the euro. Following
1728-474: Is secondary to formal membership of the EU. Iceland's membership of the EU is unlikely to materialize in the present domestic and European environment. A dramatic change is needed to alter Iceland's present European policy. Domestic features of each and every state need to be taken into consideration in order to fully understand its calculations of cost and benefits of a potential shelter relationship. Iceland's finance minister, Steingrímur J. Sigfússon , ahead of
1824-407: Is still a large exporter of fish (the third largest exporter to the EU after Norway and China) with a world trade surplus of €1.1 billion in 2008. In fisheries, the EU had a 2009 trade deficit of €879 million. Until Iceland's 2009 financial crisis, its commercial services sector had been growing rapidly, accounting for almost 35% of total exports (goods and services combined). Iceland applied to join
1920-850: The European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration . By virtue of the Merger Treaty , all three Communities were governed by the same institutional framework. Prior to 1967, the Common Assembly/European Parliamentary Assembly and the Court of Justice , established by the ECSC, were already shared with the EEC and EAEC, but they had different executives. The 1967 treaty gave
2016-447: The 2007 election , the Independence Party and the Social Democratic Alliance formed a new coalition with a policy of not applying for membership, but setting up a special committee to monitor the development within the EU and suggest ways to respond to that. Due to Iceland's limited currency, the government has explored the possibility of adopting the euro without joining the European Union. The EU, however, says that Iceland cannot join
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#17328591153912112-455: The Althing , though the European Union stated that Iceland had not formally withdrawn the application. If negotiations were to resume, Iceland would face controversial issues on fisheries which could potentially derail an agreement, despite already being a member of the European Economic Area (which excludes fishery). If an agreement were to be concluded, the accession treaty would be subject to
2208-561: The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) without becoming a full EU member state (all other non-EU states that use the euro do so because they previously used a member state currency that was replaced by the euro). At a meeting of members of his party on 17 May 2008, Geir Haarde said that in his opinion the cost of joining the EU outweighed the benefits, and therefore he was not in favour of membership. However, in October 2008, during talks to repatriate
2304-773: The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the European Economic Community (EEC), the last of which was renamed the European Community ( EC ) in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union . The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while the Communities remained
2400-452: The European Union on 16 July 2009 and formal negotiations began on 27 July 2010. However, on 13 September 2013 the Government of Iceland dissolved its accession team and suspended its application to join the EU. On 12 March 2015, Foreign Minister of Iceland Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson stated that he had sent a letter to the EU withdrawing the application for membership, without the approval of
2496-665: The Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus . In 2003, referendums on joining the EU were held in all these nations except Cyprus. Since the results were in favourable in all cases, all ten candidate countries were admitted as members of the EU, acceding on 1 May 2004. Denmark and the United Kingdom received opt-outs from the Maastricht Treaty and do not have to join the euro unless they choose to do so; Sweden has not received an opt-out, yet deliberately does not live up to
2592-567: The Netherlands want the Icelandic government to repay them the costs incurred in covering their citizens' losses due to the bankruptcy of some Icelandic banks. If Iceland does not pay, obstacles to membership could be laid by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. If Iceland agrees to repay the UK and the Netherlands, the added debt will make it difficult to adopt the euro, a major reason for Iceland to join
2688-617: The Netherlands , and West Germany came together to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1951 which established the Community. The success of this Community led to the desire to create more, but attempts at creating a European Defence Community and a European Political Community failed leading to a return to economic matters. In 1957, the EAEC and EEC were created by the Treaties of Rome . They were to share some of
2784-534: The Single European Act . In 1994, four countries, and one dependency, held referendums on membership of the EU, resulting in the 1995 enlargement of the European Union . Austria, Sweden, and Finland were admitted as members of the EU, acceding on 1 January 1995. Two countries held referendums on the ratification of the treaty of Amsterdam . The 2004 enlargement of the European Union involved ten candidate states, eight from Central and Eastern Europe, and
2880-409: The Treaty of Lisbon , likewise makes no attempt at amendment). As the EAEC has a low profile, and the profile of the European Community is dwarfed by that of the EU, the term "European Communities" sees little usage. However, when the EU was established the institutions that dealt solely or mainly with the European Community (as opposed to all three pillars) retained their original names, for example
2976-462: The accession of Turkey . There has been proposals by eurosceptic parties and movements across the EU on holding referendums on withdrawing from the EU, since the United Kingdom voted in favour of withdrawing in a 2016 referendum . European Communities The European Communities ( EC ) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions . These were
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3072-441: The euro or not. His prediction received some criticism, not the least from people within his own government. Another former Prime Minister, Geir H. Haarde , has on a number of occasions stated his opposition to EU membership, both as Foreign Minister under Halldór Ásgrímsson and after taking office as Prime Minister. In response to Halldór Ásgrímsson's earlier prediction, Haarde said, "I don't share that point of view. Our policy
3168-406: The fisheries sector and whale hunting , while progress has been made concerning the Icesave dispute . The screening process ended and formal negotiations began on 27 June 2011. Four chapters were opened: science and research; education and culture; public procurement; information society and media. The first two were immediately closed, a first in accession history. Iceland aimed to open half of
3264-476: The " Inner Six " (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association ). The six founding countries were France , West Germany , Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium , the Netherlands and Luxembourg . The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark , Ireland and the United Kingdom . Greece , Spain and Portugal joined in
3360-580: The 1980s. Following the creation of the EU in November 1993, it has enlarged to include a further sixteen countries by July 2013. Member states are represented in some form in each institution. The Council is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government. Each state also has a right to one European Commissioner each, although in the European Commission they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of
3456-542: The 1990s as hope. He did however claim that ultimately it was the major fishing countries of the EU who would influence the outcome of the application. In February 2013, the Icelandic chief negotiator stated that the main driving force for Iceland joining the EU was the benefit to the country of adopting the euro to replace the inflation-plagued Icelandic króna . Iceland's HICP inflation and related long-term government interest rates were both recorded to be around 6 per cent on average for 2012. Most importantly, however, while
3552-645: The Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) had two Commissioners. In the European Parliament , members are allocated a set number seats related to their population, however these ( since 1979 ) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin. Most other institutions, including the European Court of Justice , have some form of national division of its members. At
3648-679: The Council and Commission of the EEC responsibility over ECSC and EAEC affairs, abolishing the Councils of the ECSC and EAEC, the Commission of the EAEC and the High Authority of the ECSC . These governed the three Communities until the establishment of the European Union in 1993. The three Communities shared the same membership, the six states that signed the Treaty of Paris and subsequent treaties were known as
3744-472: The EEA and EFTA would have threatened its key economic interests, and non-membership of Schengen would have imposed burdens on Icelandic individuals. Former Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson predicted on 8 February 2006 that the country would join the EU by 2015. He added that the decisive factor would be the future and the size of the Eurozone , especially whether Denmark, Sweden and the UK would have adopted
3840-456: The EU Iceland's most important trading partner, followed by Norway. Traditionally, Iceland's economy has focused on fisheries and renewable energy (primarily hydroelectricity and geothermal energy - see energy in Iceland for more details), but it has been diversifying into aluminium production, pharmaceuticals , information technologies , tourism and the financial sector . Iceland
3936-696: The EU by the common set of institutions, has been retained as an entity distinct from the EU, along with a number of other international entities, such as the European Investment Bank , the European University Institute , the European Stability Mechanism , and the Unified Patent Court . The ECSC was created first. Following its proposal in 1950 in the Schuman Declaration , Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg ,
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4032-640: The EU on foreign affairs and frequently aligns itself to EU foreign policy . Iceland also participates in EU civilian peacekeeping missions. Iceland is a member of the Nordic Passport Union and the Schengen Area , which now is under EU law, as a non-voting participant. Iceland's participation in the Schengen Area allows free movement of people between Iceland and the rest of the Schengen Area. Several thousand Icelanders travel to and study or work in
4128-616: The EU summit in March, this was delayed to allow the German national parliament, which has the authority to debate important EU policy such as enlargement before action is taken by the government, to consider the matter. The German Parliament voted in favour of opening membership negotiations on 22 April 2010. The European Council decided in June to begin negotiations, and on 17 June 2010, the EU granted official candidate status to Iceland by formally approving
4224-606: The EU, because of the convergence criteria . Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos , who then held the Presidency of the European Union, has said that the Icesave dispute does not impact Iceland's application. David Miliband , then British Foreign Minister, reaffirmed the UK's continued support for Iceland's EU application. Additionally, the Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has stated that while
4320-615: The EU. A large majority of foreigners in Iceland come from the EU. Iceland is also associated with the Dublin Convention on justice and home affairs cooperation. Iceland also has links to several EU member states through its membership of the Nordic Council . During the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis , instability in the Icelandic króna led to discussion in Iceland about adopting
4416-470: The EU. In light of this, the Foreign Ministry stated that it had "decided to consider dissolving the negotiation committee". A few weeks later the committee was officially dissolved. Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson said that "the process has been suspended. But nothing has been closed down." In October 2013 Benediktsson stated that no decision on ending Iceland's membership bid would be made until
4512-603: The EU. What were formerly the competencies of the EEC fell within the European Communities pillar. Justice and Home Affairs was introduced as a new pillar while European Political Cooperation became the second pillar (the Common Foreign and Security Policy ). The Communities institutions became the institutions of the EU but the roles of the institutions between the pillars are different. The commission, Parliament and Court of Justice are largely cut out of activities in
4608-406: The European Communities. The working conditions of staff are governed by the Communities' staff regulations and not directly by the labour laws of the countries of employment. Their salaries, wages and emoluments are subject to a tax for the benefit of the European Communities and are, in turn, exempt from national taxes. Iceland%E2%80%93European Union relations#Accession of Iceland to
4704-589: The European Union Iceland is heavily integrated into the European Union via the Agreement on the European Economic Area and the Schengen Agreement , despite its status as a non- EU member state . Iceland applied for membership in 2009. The Minister for Foreign Affairs sent a letter in 2015 that ended the application process. Iceland is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA),
4800-529: The European Union and its antecedent organisation, the European Communities . In the first referendum in 1975 , continued membership of what was then the European Communities (which included the European Economic Community , often referred to as the Common Market in the UK) was approved by 67.2% of voters, while in its second referendum in 2016 voters voted by 51.9% to leave the European Union, effectively reversing
4896-589: The European Union in the future may hold a referendum as part of the accession process. Iceland, which submitted an application for EU membership in 2009 but subsequently suspended negotiations after a change in government, has debated holding a referendum on resuming negotiations . In addition, Article 88-5 of the Constitution of France requires a referendum there to ratify any future accession treaty. Politicians in other existing member states have proposed referendums in their states, particularly with reference to
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#17328591153914992-450: The European Union promptly in 2011, at the same time as Croatia , saying that Iceland is an old democracy but also that it should not get special treatment. Fishing quotas and Icelandic whaling may be the toughest issues in any such negotiations. On 16 July 2009, the Althing voted in favour of accession talks with the EU (with 33 votes in favour, 28 against, and 2 abstentions). The head of
5088-557: The European Union: Economic relations between Iceland and the European Union are primarily governed by two agreements: a bilateral free trade agreement signed in 1972, and the agreement on the EEA in 1994. The EEA was established to give Iceland, among other European countries outside the EU, access to the EU market . Iceland's access to the EU market in respect of agriculture and fisheries
5184-405: The Independence Party called for a referendum prior to the start of negotiations. The Social Democratic Alliance made joining the EU a key issue in their campaign. After the win of the pro-EU Social Democratic Alliance in the election, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir spoke of an immediate application to the European Union and adoption of the euro within four years as a way to deal with
5280-534: The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar to the European Community (JHA was renamed Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC) as a result). Both Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice also extended codecision procedure to nearly all policy areas, giving Parliament equal power to the Council in the Community. In 2002, the Treaty of Paris which established the European Coal and Steel Community (one of
5376-418: The Lithuanian Parliament unanimously approved and gave full support for Iceland's membership application to join the European Union. Later, on 27 July, Malta also announced that it supports Iceland's EU bid. In September 2009, the Spanish foreign minister visited Iceland to discuss the progress of the Icelandic application; Spain chaired the EU from January–June 2010. On 8 September, the EU commission sent
5472-406: The Progressive Party and the Citizens' Movement together already had enough seats to approve the application. Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson , the leader of the Progressive Party, strongly objected to the suggestion that his party would assist the government in this matter, however. The anti-EU Left-Green coalition partner accepted that in spring 2010, the minister for foreign affairs would present to
5568-423: The Social Democratic Party ( Alþýðuflokkurinn ) became the first Icelandic political party to include the intention to apply to join the EU in its policy statement. Despite this hostility towards EU membership, the Independence Party was forced to accept some of the constraints associated with participation in the European project. Iceland sought shelter provided by the EEA, EFTA and Schengen because non-membership of
5664-559: The Treaty of Maastricht, Parliament gained a much bigger role. Maastricht brought in the codecision procedure , which gave it equal legislative power with the Council on Community matters. Hence, with the greater powers of the supranational institutions and the operation of Qualified Majority Voting in the council, the Communities pillar could be described as a far more federal method of decision making. The Amsterdam Treaty transferred rule making powers for border controls, immigration, asylum and cooperation in civil and commercial law from
5760-421: The actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar . In popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities. The European Coal and Steel Community ceased to exist in 2002 when its founding treaty expired. The European Community
5856-447: The ambassador of Iceland in Stockholm . The application was again handed over by the Icelandic foreign minister to the Swedish one in a ceremony in Stockholm on 23 July 2009. The letter of application was dated 16 July 2009. The application was acknowledged by the Council of the European Union on 27 July 2009. Sweden , then holder of the EU presidency , announced that it would prioritise Iceland's EU accession process. On 24 July,
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#17328591153915952-419: The approval of the Althing , though the European Union stated that Iceland had not formally withdrawn the application. In 2017, Iceland's newly elected government announced that it would hold a vote in parliament on whether to hold a referendum on resuming EU membership negotiations. However, in November 2017 that government was replaced by a coalition of the Independence Party, the Left Green Movement and
6048-407: The completion of EU accession negotiations. On 19 March 2013, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir , an Independence Party MP, put forward a motion in the Althing calling for a referendum asking the Icelandic public whether EU accession negotiations should continue. She proposed that the referendum be held during the upcoming parliamentary election in April if possible, or else during local elections in
6144-412: The country retained the Icelandic kronur, it was unable to lift the capital controls recently introduced in the turmoil of the economic crisis. Introduction of the euro, a far stronger currency, would allow the country to lift these capital controls and achieve an increased inward flow of foreign economic capital, which ultimately would ensure higher and more stable economic growth. To be eligible to adopt
6240-412: The country's debt. In late April 2009, it was announced that the United Kingdom , which at the time was a member state of the European Union with whom Iceland has had a long history of fishing and territorial water disputes , supported Iceland joining the EU. In early May 2009, it was leaked that the issue of application for EU membership would likely be left to the parliament, in which the Alliance,
6336-456: The country's degree of adoption of EU legislation, and whether there shall be any exceptions. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn claimed that negotiations on an accession treaty would take less than a year, because Iceland had already adopted two-thirds of EU legislation in relation to the EEA . He had on other occasions claimed that the negotiations could take up to four years. On 30 January 2009, Rehn commented that Iceland could enter
6432-425: The country's first elections since the financial crisis , stated that "any decision for Iceland to join the European Union and the single currency must be taken by its people, not one political party", on the subject that the issue of EU membership was the greatest threat to a stable coalition. The 2009 election , which followed the financial crisis, saw the Progressive Party switch to supporting EU membership but
6528-451: The creation of the EU was Jacques Delors , who briefly continued his previous EEC tenure before handing over to Jacques Santer in 1994. The first pillar was the only one established according to then-innovative principles of supranationalism . The pillar structure of the EU allowed the areas of European co-operation to be increased without leaders handing a large amount of power to supranational institutions. The pillar system segregated
6624-473: The currency regime, including a possible EU application" and that an application for membership needed to be discussed "in weeks rather than months". Two weeks later, on 17 November 2008, the Independence Party announced it would hold its party congress in January 2009 instead of Autumn 2009, to reconsider the possibility of applying for EU membership; the Progressive Party also announced it would hold its party congress in January, after two anti-EU MPs (including
6720-483: The election, though negotiations would continue on chapters that had already been opened. In February 2013, the national congress of both the Independence Party and Progressive Party reconfirmed their policy that further membership negotiations with the EU should be stopped and not resumed unless they are first approved by a national referendum, while the national congresses of the Social Democratic Alliance, Bright Future and Left-Green Movement reiterated their support for
6816-494: The end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines the legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from
6912-417: The euro, Iceland would need to join the EU, as unilateral euro adoption had previously been refused by the EU. The Icelandic Parliamentary committee on foreign affairs tabled a proposal on 18 December 2012 to suspend accession negotiations. The motion also called for an "application referendum" to be held to determine the will of the Icelandic people prior to any resumption of negotiations. A similar proposal
7008-717: The euro. However, Jürgen Stark , a Member of the executive board of the European Central Bank , has stated that "Iceland would not be able to adopt the EU currency without first becoming a member of the EU". As of the ECB's May 2012 convergence report, Iceland did not meet any of the convergence criteria. One year later, the country managed to comply with the deficit criteria and had begun to decrease its debt-to-GDP ratio , but still suffered from elevated HICP inflation and long-term governmental interest rates. Academics have proposed several explanations for why Iceland has not joined
7104-412: The formal name of the European Court of Justice was the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" until 2009. In 1967, the Merger Treaty combined these separate executives. The Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts in the other organisations. From then on they became known collectively as the "European Communities", for example the commission
7200-407: The institutions of the ECSC but have separate executive structures. The ECSC's aim was to combine the coal and steel industries of its members to create a single market in those resources. It was intended that this would increase prosperity and decrease the risk of these countries going to war through the process of European integration . The EAEC was working on nuclear energy co-operation between
7296-453: The issue were opened by others both an application and an initial accession treaty with the EU should be put to a referendum. The US denied Iceland's financial request for financial support after the 2008 economic crash. Iceland turned to the EU for assistance, but they also turned Iceland's request for aid down. This seriously damaged the efforts of the Europhiles in Iceland to sell the EU as
7392-404: The members. The EEC was to create a customs union and general economic co-operation. It later led to the creation of a European single market . The EEC became the European Community pillar of the EU , with the ECSC and EAEC continuing in a similar subordinate position, existing separately in a legal sense but governed by the institutions of the EU as if they were its own. The ECSC's treaty had
7488-585: The motion. However, some MPs from the Left-Green Movement declared their support for the measure. On 10 January 2013, the proposal was formally adopted by the Foreign Affairs committee. On 14 January, the Icelandic government announced that negotiations would be slowed, and that an accession agreement would not be reached before the parliamentary election in April . No new chapters would be opened prior to
7584-477: The opening of membership talks. Negotiations for membership of the EU started on 27 July 2010, with screening of specific acquis chapters beginning on 15 November 2010. Iceland became eligible for pre-accession funding from the EU through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) since July 2010. The first annual report on negotiations was published in November 2010: the main issues at stake remained
7680-464: The opening of negotiations will not be blocked by the Icesave dispute, it must be resolved before Iceland's accession. In February 2010, the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy recommended to the Council of the European Union to start accession negotiations with Iceland. While it was expected that Iceland would be considered for official candidate status at
7776-434: The parliament a bill on talks with the EU. On 10 May 2009, Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir announced that the government intended to move towards membership more quickly than previously expected. She announced that a bill would be introduced in parliament on 15 May 2009, authorising the opening of accession talks with the EU. She also stated that she was confident that the legislation would pass, and that she had secured
7872-468: The parliamentary committee on EU affairs, Árni Þór Sigurðsson, stated that Iceland would not be ready to join the EU any earlier than 2013. However the government stated that it planned to complete negotiations by the end of 2010. On 17 July 2009, the application for Icelandic membership of the EU was handed to the government of Sweden , which then held the presidency of the Council of the European Union , by
7968-604: The party leader) resigned and were replaced by MPs more positive towards EU application. The Progressive Party accepted at its congress to support application for EU membership but with very strict conditions including one demanding full authority for Iceland over its fishing grounds and other national resources. When the government headed by the Independence Party was dissolved in January the party decided to postpone its congress until March. The congress eventually decided on an unchanged opposition to EU membership but also claimed that if
8064-476: The remaining chapters under the Polish presidency (the second half of 2011) and the other half under the following Danish presidency (first half of 2012). Despite disputes over Icesave and fishing, and the fact there was then no majority in favour of membership in Iceland, Icelandic Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson was confident Iceland would join and looked to the EU's flexibility in negotiations with Norway during
8160-406: The requirements for joining. Two referendums have been held on the issue, both of which rejected accession. Several member states used or intended to use referendums to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE). Referendums were planned, but not held, in: Only one member state, Ireland, obliged by their constitution, decided on ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon through
8256-486: The result of the first referendum. Greenland , an autonomous territory of Denmark, voted to leave the EC in a referendum in 1982 by 53% of voters. In 1972, four countries held referendums on the subject of the 1973 enlargement of the European Communities . Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom were admitted as members of the EC, acceding on 1 January 1973. Two referendums were held in EU countries to permit them to ratify
8352-484: The second and third pillars, with the Council dominating proceedings. This is reflected in the names of the institutions, the council is formally the "Council of the European Union " while the commission is formally the "Commission of the European Communities ". This allowed the new areas to be based on intergovernmentalism (unanimous agreement between governments) rather than majority voting and independent institutions according to supranational democracy. However, after
8448-400: The spring of 2014. In response to Gunnarsdóttir and other proponents of EU integration within the Independence Party, Bjarni Benediktsson , the leader of the party, reiterated the party's policy of stopping negotiations with the EU, but promised to hold a referendum on continuing the negotiations in the first half of their term if they form government. The ruling left-wing parties suffered
8544-471: The subject of whether to become a member of European Union as part of the accession process, although the EU does not require any candidate country to hold a referendum to approve membership or as part of treaty ratification . Other EU-related referendums have been held on the adoption of the euro and on participation in other EU-related policies. The United Kingdom is the only country as an EU member state to have held referendums on continued membership of
8640-467: The three communities which comprised the European Communities) expired, having reached its 50-year limit (as the first treaty, it was the only one with a limit). No attempt was made to renew its mandate; instead, the Treaty of Nice transferred certain of its elements to the Treaty of Rome and hence its work continued as part of the EC area of the Communities remit. The Treaty of Lisbon merged
8736-403: The three pillars and abolished the European Community, with the European Union becoming the Community's legal successor. Only one of the three European Communities still exists, thus making the designation of "European Communities" obsolete. The abolition of the pillar structure was proposed already under the European Constitution which ultimately failed to pass the ratification process. Since
8832-458: The time of its abolition, the Community pillar covered the following areas: The Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities grants the European Communities and their institutions certain privileges and immunities such as to allow them to perform their tasks. The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 USC § 288h) of the United States has also been extended to
8928-477: Was approved with a narrow majority of 33 to 28 votes with 2 abstentions. To become a member, a country must first apply and then be recognised as a candidate country. For that to happen the country must satisfy the first of the Copenhagen criteria : it must be a politically stable democracy that respects human rights. Then negotiations will take place which will consider the country's fulfilment of economic criteria,
9024-577: Was known as the "Commission of the European Communities", although the communities themselves remained separate in legal terms. The Maastricht Treaty built upon the Single European Act and the Solemn Declaration on European Union in the creation of the European Union . The treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993. The emerging Union integrated the European Communities as its institutional core and one of its three pillars . The first Commission President following
9120-409: Was merged with the second and third EU pillars by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, finally allowing the European Union to move beyond being only a concept and to assume the shape of a legally incorporated international organization with juridical personality, designated as the legal successor to the Community. However, the reformed EU has not become entirely unified, because Euratom, though governed with
9216-526: Was submitted to the Icelandic parliament in May 2012, but was rejected by a vote of 25 for and 34 against. The Icelandic parliament had yet to vote on the new proposal, which were supported primarily at the time by the opposition Independence Party and Progressive Party . The leaders of both governing parties, the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement , stated that they did not support
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