Besluitpunt "MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FROM ICELAND"

Mr REHN briefed the Commission on the latest developments in Iceland's application for EU membership.

Following the vote in the Icelandic parliament on 16 July, the application had been made to the Council PV(2009)1883 final (22 July 2009) PV(2009)1883 final 35 Presidency the next day and would be formally handed over at an official ceremony in Stockholm on 23 July.

Mr REHN referred to Iceland's long democratic and parliamentary tradition and its membership of both the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area, which meant that two-thirds of the Community acquis had already been incorporated into its national legislation.

However, special attention would have to be paid to certain sensitive areas in the forthcoming accession negotiations, particularly fisheries, agriculture and the financial sector.

Looking ahead to the next stages, Mr REHN referred to the current procedures, and particularly the opinion the Commission had to prepare for presentation to the Council, which entailed sending a questionnaire to the candidate country to determine whether it complied with the Copenhagen criteria.

The matter would be discussed at the next meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 27 and 28 July, and as soon as the Council had asked the Commission to produce its opinion on Iceland's application a draft questionnaire would be sent for inter-service consultation.

In due course various administrative arrangements would also have to be made within the Commission departments for organising possible accession negotiations.

A brief discussion followed in which the following points were raised:

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  the procedural steps that might still have to be completed in Iceland once the negotiations had ended;

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  the need to develop a proactive strategy in the fisheries sector straight away, and to examine with Iceland the limits to be placed on expectations in this field;

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  the positive reaction to the application, particularly from the Nordic Member States, and its possible implications for the EU's relations with other non-member countries in the region.

PV(2009)1883 final (22 July 2009) PV(2009)1883 final 36 Mr REHN confirmed that there would probably be another vote in Iceland once the negotiations had been completed and agreed that questions about the fisheries sector would be very important during these negotiations.

He also raised the question of internal procedures for dealing with the matter during the summer holidays.

The PRESIDENT wound up the discussion by stressing the positive nature of Iceland's application for membership both in its own right and for the EU's relations with other non-member countries in the region, but also insisted that the application should not raise undue expectations in Iceland in certain sectors and would have to be dealt with in accordance with the rules and procedures in place, including rules for interservice consultations during the summer period.

It was also necessary to proceed with caution pending the full ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

The Commission took note of these observations and of Mr REHN and Ms FERRERO-WALDNER's briefing note in SEC(2009)1084/2.