BBC News, 2
May 2013
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Stories
"EU No Thanks: opinion polls suggest most Icelanders are now against joining the EU |
Iceland
applied to join the European Union in July 2009, a year after it suffered one
of Europe's worst financial crises.
Negotiations
began nearly three years ago, but big sticking points remain.
Opinion
polls suggest most Icelanders are now against joining. Centre-left parties lost
last month's election.
The two
parties that emerged as winners - the centrist Progressive Party and the
right-wing Independence Party - announced on Wednesday that they had agreed to
form a government.
They also
promised to freeze talks with Brussels until after the result of a referendum
on EU membership.
Iceland has
made a striking recovery since its main banks collapsed in 2008.
Because it
has never been part of the eurozone, the island was able to preserve the value
of its exports by devaluing its currency.
Fish and
fish products account for more than 70% of those exports and fishing rights
remain the most contentious issue in EU membership negotiations.
Many
Icelanders fear their monopoly on fishing waters around the island will be
eroded by demands from Brussels to allow access to foreign boats.
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