The Daily Star, AFP, December 18, 2012
Iceland's Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson addresses a new s conference after an European Union-Iceland accession conference in Brussels December 12, 2011. (REUTERS/Francois Lenoir) |
BRUSSELS:
Iceland made "substantial progress" in its quest to join the European
Union, though the contentious issue of fishing rights has yet to be tackled,
the EU said Friday.
The
27-nation EU and Iceland opened six more negotiation "chapters"
touching on economic issues such as tax, monetary policy and free movement of
goods, as well as foreign policy and environment.
Nations
applying for EU membership must negotiate 35 policy chapters with the 27-nation
bloc, a process that can take many years to finish.
But Iceland
has now opened 27 chapters with the EU, wrapping up 11 of those already in
negotiations that began in July 2010. Reykjavik already fulfils many EU
policies thanks to its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA).
But more
difficult negotiations are expected when the two sides open talks on fishing, a
major source of revenue for the North Atlantic island.
Iceland and
the EU are at odds over fishing rights, with a so-called "mackerel
war" heating up in late 2010 after Iceland unilaterally multiplied its
catch quota. The two sides also disagree on Iceland's whaling tradition.
Friday's
talks were headed by Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson and Cyprus Foreign
Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, whose country holds the rotating EU
presidency. The EU's enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele also attended.
Iceland
applied for EU membership in 2009 in the wake of a catastrophic banking and
economic meltdown.
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