Icelandic Foreign Minister Togdur Katrin Gunnarsdóttir told Politico that Iceland is expected to complete accession negotiations with the EU within a year and a half and become the 28th member state of the EU. Iceland will hold a referendum on August 29 to decide whether to restart previously suspended EU accession negotiations. A recent Gallup poll shows that the support and opposition camps are evenly matched: 52% of the people support the resumption of negotiations, while 48% oppose it.
"Sometimes you don't have to be led by the polls, you have to lead the way yourself," said Togdul, who leads the pro-European Reform Party.
Iceland is a member of the European Economic Area and also belongs to the Schengen Free Movement Area, so it has been incorporated into many EU laws. Togdul said that if the Icelandic people vote to restart negotiations, "the accession negotiations will not be too complicated for us" and "the process will be quite fast."
When asked whether Iceland would overtake the candidate countries with the fastest progress in negotiations such as Montenegro and become the 28th member of the EU, Togdul gave an affirmative answer. But she added: "Of course the biggest issue will be fisheries."
Iceland applied to join the EU during the 2009 financial crisis, but negotiations were frozen in 2013 due to fishery policy differences and the improving economic situation, and the application was officially withdrawn in 2015. Previously, Iceland had completed 11 of 33 negotiating chapters - a milestone that Montenegro had only achieved in recent months. An EU official who requested anonymity said last month that accession talks with Iceland could be completed in as soon as a year.
Togdul reminded that even if the Icelandic people support EU membership in the August referendum, another vote will still need to be held after the negotiations.
But Togdul said the benefits of joining the EU during the current period of "geopolitical turmoil" were emerging. “It is also vital to provide shelter for our businesses and industries and protect them within the EU.”
She said that Iceland will benefit from both economic and security aspects by joining the EU. "Our inflation and interest rates have always been higher than other European countries, and there are too many monopolies in the economy." She also added that the EU would also benefit from absorbing Iceland, which is located in a strategic geographical location and has a rich economy.
Togdul said the August referendum "is about handing power to the people." "I think it would be in the interest of both Iceland and the EU to start negotiations now, not in two years or whatever, but now."