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Iceland to Enter EU?

One objective of the new Left-Green socialist government of Iceland is to hold a referendum on the controversial issue of joining the European Union.

The center-left SDA proposes the newly-called general election be pushed back from May 9 to May 30, and the EU referendum be held on the same day. The Socialist Left-Green Movement wants general elections to be held earlier, sometime in April. the LGM came out against Icealnd entering the EU earlier this month.

The SDA proposal calls for the Icelandic constitution be amended so an EU membership application can be more quickly processed, and change the Icelandic parliament so it has the authority to amend the constitution.

The issue of Iceland’s membership has been a sensitive issue for several years in the tiny Nordic country, with proponents gaining momentum since the economic collapse occurred last October. “We cannot waste any time in applying for the European Union,” said Arni Pall Arnason, Social Democrat MP in the Icelandic parliament last Thursday before the government’s collapse. Delegations from two political parties from Norway, a staunch anti-EU proponent, visited Iceland last December to persuade its government to say no to EU expansion.

The outgoing Independence Party doubled the whaling quota as its last act in office, a sign many are taking as a defiant no vote against entering the EU.

The SDA also wants to radically alter Icelandic Central Bank. First the board governors must step down, a popular idea among Icelanders, then amend bank laws so only one governor can run the Bank at a time.

The SDA also wants to establish a series of committees and councils to regulate the Central Bank’s monetary policy. Future Central Bank governors should be appointed on a basis of international standards, according to the SDA.

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Continuing the Discussion

No EU Referendum, Possible Wealth Freeze For Iceland | The Right Perspective linked to this post on January 28, 2009
[...] Movement leader Steingrímur J. Sigfússon has announced that Iceland will not hold a referendum on EU membership this Spring, when special general elections are to be [...]
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[...] about an Icelandic referendum on EU membership were set aside by Iceland’s new Red-Green coalition government. The Social Democrat Alliance [...]
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[...] public vote on EU membership was originally to be held, but the offer was withdrawn after Sigurdardóttir based her plan for digging Iceland out of the [...]