Iceland, once keen on joining the European Union, now has officially cancelled its application.
The country applied for membership in 2009. At the time, the financial crisis had hit and the currency, the krona, lost nearly half of its value. The demise of US investment bank Lehman Brothers resulted in the collapse of three of Iceland’s largest banks.
Since then a new government has come into power, one which is more eurosceptic.
The foreign minister said that Iceland has informed the European Commission of its decision to annul its application.
“Iceland’s interests are better served outside the European Union,” the minister wrote on his website.
Iceland has said it wants to maintain “close ties and cooperation” with the EU.
The move should not have come as a surprise to the EU as the Iceland government last year said it was to drop its application, after having suspended talks in 2013. At the time, thousands took to the streets of Reykjavik to demand a referendum on the matter.
But in the meantime opinion polls have begun to show increasing resistance to joining the EU. It remains a member of the visa-free Schengen area and is part of the European Economic Area, allowing it to export seafood to Europe without tariffs.
Fishing quotas were always going to be a near-impossible subject to negotiate, given the importance of fishing to the country’s economy.
