Iceland's parliament backs applying for EU membership
Iceland's parliament voted in favor of applying for EU membership on Thursday in the wake of its economic meltdown, opening the way for negotiations to begin with the 27-nation bloc. A total of 33 members of the 63-seat Althingi backed the governing Social Democrat party's proposition to open membership talks with Brussels, while 28 voted against and two abstained. Five members of the Left Green party, the Social Democrats' partner in the coalition government, rejected the proposition, including Jon Bjarnason, the minister of agriculture and fisheries.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said in a statement: "I welcome that the Icelandic parliament has now decided for itself to apply for EU membership. "The application is going to be handled according to the (European) Council's established procedures," he added. Under those procedures, Iceland will make its application to the Swedish EU presidency, which in turn will ask fellow EU members if there are any objections to the North Atlantic island joining. If countries agree, the European Commission will then be asked to report on whether Iceland should become an official candidate.
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