Bezoek eurocommissaris Füle aan IJsland in kader voortgangsrapport toetreding EU (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC), gepubliceerd op dinsdag 18 oktober 2011.

Brussels, 18 October 2011 - The European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle will visit Iceland on Wednesday and Thursday for the first time since the country applied for the EU membership. Commissioner Füle will be able to personally discuss the content of the 2011 Progress Report on Iceland with his interlocutors in Reykjavik and discuss further steps in the accession process.

"Negotiations with Iceland have had a good start and are progressing well, we have excellent cooperation" Mr Füle said before leaving Brussels. "Iceland and the European Union already share many policies, a lot of legislation, and our economies are well integrated," he added in respect to the level of approximation to the EU. The Commissioner will meet the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament and members of the parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs, as well as representatives of the Confederation of Labour and Confederation of Employers during his two days in Reykjavik.

Iceland applied for the EU membership in July 2009 and so far four negotiating chapters have been opened, out of which two are provisionally closed. The European Commission has published the Progress Report on Iceland last week stating that the overall level of Iceland's preparedness to meet EU legislative requirements continues to be good. In order to contribute to the public debate about the EU, the EU Information Centre will be opened in Reykjavik in the coming weeks.

Background

EU-Iceland key dates

  • - 
    1970: Iceland joins European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
  • - 
    1973: Free trade agreement with the European Community
  • - 
    1994: Iceland joins the European Economic Area (EEA)
  • - 
    2000: Iceland becomes a participant in the Schengen agreement
  • - 
    July 2009: Application for EU membership
  • - 
    February 2010: Commission's Opinion on Iceland's application for EU membership
  • - 
    June 2010: European Council decides to open negotiations with Iceland
  • - 
    July 2010: Formal opening of the accession negotiations
  • - 
    15 November 2010: Start of screening meetings
  • - 
    20 June 2011: End of screening meetings
  • - 
    27 June 2011: Accession conference: 4 negotiation chapters were opened out of which, two were provisionally closed.

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