President. - The next item is the debate on the statements by the Council and the Commission on the 2011 progress report on Iceland (2011/2884(RSP)).

  Nicolai Wammen, President-in-Office of the Council. – Mr President, honourable Members, Commissioner Füle, let us now turn to Iceland and underline a number of points which are also duly reflected in your resolution.

On 5 December last year, the Council welcomed the Commission’s progress report on Iceland and took good note of its findings and recommendations. Iceland has indeed made good progress over the last year and has continued to do so in the first months of 2012. The process of screening the acquis is almost complete, and there is good momentum in the negotiations.

Last week, I had the opportunity to go to Iceland, where I met with leaders in Icelandic politics, including the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister and other leaders. I made it very clear that we want to continue this process in a very constructive dialogue.

Due to its membership of the European Economic Area and Schengen, Iceland has come to the negotiations with another starting point. In a large number of policy fields, Iceland already lives up to – or is very close to – the acquis. In this regard, it is worth noticing that we managed to simultaneously open and close the very symbolic Chapter 23 on judicial matters.

I would also like to add that Iceland benefits from a very professional administration and a very committed and professional negotiating team, also at political level. This impression was strongly confirmed when I met with the Icelandic leadership a short while ago.

The Council is committed to moving the negotiation process forward. As the Presidency, we take this mandate very seriously and will push those negotiations forward as much as possible within the merit-based approach. It is clear to all that there can be no shortcuts to membership for any countries and that Iceland will, of course, have to satisfy the same criteria in the enlargement negotiations as the other candidate countries.

In December last year, the Council noted with satisfaction Iceland’s progress in stabilising its economy. The recovery from the economic and financial collapse in 2008 and 2009 is well under way. This is not least due to responsible macro-economic policies and tough decisions on structural and welfare reforms. Also due to this, Iceland successfully completed its IMF programme in August 2011 and has just recently seen itself upgraded by the rating agency Fitch.

Iceland still faces challenges. But with the current economic outlook, we are convinced that Iceland will be able to cope with competitive pressures and market forces within the Union over the medium term.

Let me move on to the state of the actual negotiations. We have now almost completed the screening process, which is a process that examines Iceland’s level of alignment with the acquis. The Council has already received and dealt with all screening reports except those from the fishery chapters. We expect to receive that report around Easter. As for the negotiations of the 35 negotiation chapters, 11 chapters have now been opened and eight have been provisionally closed, thanks to the efforts of previous presidencies.

This is a remarkable result, which underlines Iceland’s very high level of preparedness for membership. It also represents momentum to be upheld, which we will do everything possible to achieve.

The next accession conference with Iceland at deputy level is planned for 30 March. This should allow us to take stock of progress and send clear signals as to Iceland’s and the EU’s shared commitment to uphold momentum. We hope to open at least three new chapters concerning competition policy, energy, and foreign security and defence policy, and also to provisionally close some of those chapters.

The accession conference at ministerial level planned for June will confirm the results of the accession conference in March and sustain the momentum in the negotiations by opening and provisionally closing a further number of chapters.

All in all, we expect negotiations to continue at very good speed this semester. Some more challenging negotiations, such as those on fisheries, lie ahead of us. However, given the commitment and focus from the Icelandic side, we are very confident that, with the right amount of goodwill and political determination, substantial progress can be achieved in these areas as well. I am convinced of the commitment of all parties to bring the negotiations forward.

In conclusion, the aim of the Presidency is to sustain momentum in the negotiations and bring them forward as much as possible. This is a task that we can only achieve with the support and cooperation of the Member States, the Commission and, not least, this Parliament, as this debate will show.

Let me also, on behalf of the Danish Presidency and the Member States, thank this Parliament and, in particular, your rapporteur, Mr Preda, for the work done on this issue. Your continued commitment to enlargement is vital to its success – as is, of course, your particular role in promoting popular support in the EU for this cause.

The resolution on Iceland and its endorsement in plenary is indeed a forceful political and strategic message. I also believe that, through contacts with fellow parliamentarians from the Althingi in Iceland, this House will be able to make an important and much-needed contribution to enhancing understanding of the EU, the values that we share and the way we work.

  Štefan Füle, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, it is a great pleasure for me to contribute today to your debate on Iceland’s accession and to hear your views on this ambitious project.

I would like to seize this opportunity to congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Preda, on his comprehensive report, which – in my view – is right to the point and well balanced. Since the official opening of the negotiations with Iceland in July 2010, 11 chapters have been opened, out of which eight have now been provisionally closed. This well reflects Iceland’s own merits, its advanced stage of integration with the European Union as a member of the European Economic Area, and the proper functioning of the established enlargement methodology.

Let me also point out that the most recent internal market scoreboard of the European Free Trade Area members of the European Economic Area shows that Iceland is transposing the relevant acquis much better than the average Member State. With 0.5%, it is well below the 1% transposition deficit target set by the European Council of March 2007. Just to add for comparison: the average European Union Member State transposition deficit is 1.2%.

The Commission, together with the Icelandic authorities and the Danish and Cypriot Presidencies, is working to build on this momentum to open as many chapters of the acquis as possible in 2012. All the screening reports have now been presented to the Council with the exception of the one on fisheries which is close to completion. We hope to open up to four chapters at the next accession conference on 30 March.

Let us be clear: 2012 will be a decisive year as we are getting ready to start, as soon as possible, negotiations on some of the core chapters, such as on fisheries, agriculture, food safety and environment. In doing so, we will always privilege quality over speed.

Let me now briefly turn to issues of particular interest that were raised by Cristian Preda in his report. Iceland was among the first countries to undergo the detrimental effects of the financial crisis and has imposed a number of austerity measures. Thanks to its effort, the economic recovery has continued over the last months with an estimated growth of over 3% for 2012. Iceland should be commended for these efforts.

Let me briefly mention the pre-accession financial support measures that we are providing to Iceland. A total indicative envelope of some EUR 30 million is foreseen for the years 2011-2013, to support strengthening the country’s administrative capacity. The TAIEX instrument is fully operational in a wide range of acquis-related fields.

We are also providing the pre-accession support for information activities. There is a need for a well-informed and balanced debate about the accession process within the European Union and in Iceland. I therefore very much welcome the opening early this year of the European Union Information Centre in Reykjavik. The Centre will play an important role in enabling the Icelandic population to make an informed decision on their European future.

Most opinion polls indicate that the majority of Icelanders are in favour of continuing the accession talks and are willing to exercise their right of decision on a final deal. In spite of the diverging views on European Union accession that exist in Iceland, the progress achieved since our last meeting strongly illustrates Iceland’s commitment to its European Union aspiration and its determination to overcome the challenges ahead.

  Cristian Dan Preda, on behalf of the PPE Group. – (RO) Mr President, here we are in the second year when we have a progress report on Iceland’s accession to the EU and, frankly, progress is visible. Even though, this time last year, no negotiation chapter had yet been opened or closed, now we can speak, as Mr Wammen and Commissioner Füle said, about eleven negotiating chapters that have been opened, of which eight have been provisionally closed.

In the past year, we have also been able to witness the intensification of debate in Iceland regarding the accession to the EU, rendered, among other things, by the reactions caused precisely by point 6 of the resolution we are going to vote on in a few hours. As I pointed out in my dialogue with the Icelandic media, it is natural for the European Parliament to take note of the restructuring of the Icelandic Government and express its confidence that the new government team will continue negotiations with a stronger and more sustained commitment to the accession process.

Recent discussions aroused by the proposal that Iceland should adopt the Canadian Dollar or the Japanese Yen as own currency show, in fact, that the Icelandic public needs an informed debate about the pros and cons of joining the European Union. I appreciated, in this context, the intervention of Iceland’s Prime Minister, stating that, in fact, the choice lies between being a Member State with full rights of the European Union and the euro area and, respectively, giving up sovereignty by unilateral adoption of a foreign currency.

I therefore conclude by stressing the importance of the debate, as both Icelandic and European citizens need to know each other and be willing to be part of a community.

  Göran Färm, on behalf of the S&D Group. – (SV) Mr President, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Preda, for his excellent cooperation. It feels good to be able to send a clear signal to Iceland that we are looking forward to having the country in the EU family. It would be good to have a new Member State with such a strong democratic tradition and a market economy that, in fact, is now operating well.

Membership of the European Economic Area and Schengen means that Iceland is already involved in close cooperation with the EU and has made a great deal of progress in its preparations for accession. It is therefore gratifying that the people of Iceland and its parliament want to complete the membership negotiations. I hope that we can now also have a constructive and serious debate on Iceland with regard to what EU membership entails.

Since I am a member of the Committee on Budgets and led a committee delegation to Iceland last year, I should also point out that Iceland’s accession will not place any burden on the EU budget. In several areas, I believe that the EU could even learn a few important things from Iceland. I am thinking of Iceland’s approach to getting out of the economic crisis. The country has successfully implemented the International Monetary Fund’s recovery programme without the one-dimensional austerity measures that have, sadly, been forced on Greece, and it has successfully introduced strict measures for controlling the financial sector.

I am thinking of the fact that Iceland’s membership could give the EU a more active role in the Arctic and thus help to bring about sustainable solutions in this sensitive region. I am also thinking of EU fisheries policy, in respect of which we could learn a great deal from Iceland’s more sustainable fisheries model ahead of the EU’s forthcoming reform, and of energy policy, which is an area where Iceland, which obtains almost all of its energy from renewable sources, could make a valuable contribution as a result of its world-leading expertise on geothermal energy in particular.

However, we still need to have a sensitive discussion with Iceland with regard to the abolition of whaling and the sale of whale products, and there are a few fisheries and agricultural issues still to be resolved. I look forward to welcoming Iceland as a member of the EU, but I am, of course, well aware that the outcome of the forthcoming referendum on EU membership is by no means a foregone conclusion. In order for this outcome to be a ‘yes’ vote, we need, above all, a smart agreement on fisheries policy.

  Johannes Cornelis van Baalen, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – Mr President, as all other speakers have said, Iceland is a modern country with a very democratic tradition. It can be an asset to the European Union. If we look today, indeed, the people of Iceland and its government have pulled themselves out of the economic crisis without looking back in anger but looking forward, as the people in Ireland have also done, and this is a big achievement.

Of course there are matters still to be considered. One important thing in this case is that in Iceland, the grip of the state on the economy is too great, so they should open their economy to foreign investments, foreign ownership, and indeed competition. This is an important point.

The other thing concerns Icesave. I am from the Netherlands. Concerning the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, you can see that the obligations under Icesave have been taken seriously by the Icelandic Government and that the Icelanders are paying back money, so I am confident that they will fulfil all their obligations. Of course we need to monitor, but the prospects are good.

In other words, apart from sustainable fisheries – and I think we have to have a deal on this, a commitment – we can look to future Icelandic EU membership soon and indeed, together with the authorities and the population of Iceland, we have to convince the population that the route to Europe is the best one for such an old and democratic country in such a modern environment.

IN THE CHAIR: ALEXANDER ALVARO
Vice-President

  Indrek Tarand, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – (ET) Mr President, since today is Mother Tongue Day in Estonia, I would like to honour it with a speech in Estonian.

Firstly, we should note that Iceland may become a global leader in information and freedom of expression, primarily thanks to the IMMI – the International Modern Media Initiative – and for that reason, the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance has tabled an amendment that includes the IMMI in our report, and I would like to ask all those who can to vote in favour of it.

Secondly, we have differences of opinion on the topic of mackerel quotas, and the report’s appeal to the parties is very precise and appropriate, but the phrase that refers to historic fishing rights should be voted out, because if we examine the history of the planet, it immediately becomes clear that the fish were here before the humans, and historic fishing rights fall into the same category as the phrase ‘former Danish Republic of Iceland’.

Thirdly, Iceland has at least one big lesson for us. In this parliament, we continually speak of the need to ensure a greater female participation in management, but of the nine members of the Icelandic Government, a full five are women, which makes the country a unique example for all 27 Member States of the European Union.

  Charles Tannock, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, the ECR Group fully supports Iceland’s eventual accession to the EU. Iceland is a small, stable and wealthy democracy and a founder member of NATO and the Council of Europe. It has also made good progress in the accession process. I welcome the fact that Iceland’s Supreme Court has recognised its EEA/EFTA obligations and the jurisdiction of that court regarding compensation for Icesave depositors, which will no doubt come up during the accession negotiations. I understand around one third of the recognised priority claims have now been repaid.

Given Iceland’s successful completion of the IMF’s economic recovery programme last year, and a return to positive economic growth, we have no doubt that the other outstanding claims will be repaid.

With regard to the ongoing mackerel dispute, we believe that Iceland must respect its legal obligations and we believe the EU and Iceland to be perfectly capable of engaging in constructive negotiations to resolve this thorny issue. Hopefully, we will also see the radical Commissioner Damanaki reforms of the CFP kick in shortly. Ultimately, if, after closing all the chapters, the Icelandic people in a referendum decide to join the EU, this country will be a model EU Member State and will hopefully entice Norway to join the EU as EFTA would no longer be sustainable without Iceland.

  Helmut Scholz, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – (DE) Mr President, Mr Füle, my group has been following the developments in Iceland over the last few years and the ongoing and intensive accession negotiations with great attention and sympathy. We see Iceland primarily from the perspective of a country with a very small population which has not only succeeded in bringing about social change in recent years, but has also drawn conclusions about how to resolve the causes of the crisis and taken the necessary measures.

We believe that Iceland is very much on the right track. Therefore, my group is also asking itself whether Iceland can bring its experiences, for example, in the area of sustainable energy policy, into the accession process and ultimately into Europe. Some of the solutions it has put in place go far beyond the measures taken to overcome the crisis in the EU. That is what the accession negotiations are essentially about. This presupposes that the negotiations are not only transparent and constructive, but are also on an equal footing as far as their content is concerned and do not have a predetermined outcome.

Some of my fellow Members would like to believe that the domestic political situation in Iceland and the accession process are not efficient in political terms. However, the key political consideration is something quite different. The population of Iceland, which, by the way, is very pro-European, because many Icelanders have studied and worked in Europe, has high expectations of the negotiations. Nevertheless, the people of Iceland do not want accession at any price. In the end, they have to weigh up the results. This is a highly democratic process which we should welcome and support.

I would like to thank Mr Preda for his very balanced report, but on the basis of these considerations, my group will be abstaining from voting. Why is this? Against the background of what I have said, the report contains points that we cannot support. Two examples of these are that if we accept, as my group does, that the accession process will remain open until the final evaluation of the results of the negotiations, we cannot behave now as if the decision had already been made.

Secondly, the report calls in paragraph 5 for a reduction in the state’s influence on the banking sector. However, Iceland had particular challenges to overcome in this area, which we must not ignore. Instead, we must assess what has been done and make use of the findings.

  Mike Nattrass (NI). - Mr President, between 1958 and 1976, Iceland fought the cod wars with Britain. Now, cod stocks are rising because of Icelandic fish management.

Compare that with the former UK fishing grounds, now in EU hands. Lost and ruined. The UK’s European dream turned into a nightmare. Established fishing communities die when the EU boats move in.

My message to Iceland is obvious. If you join, you will lose your fish, your freedom and your currency and there is no regard for quotas or regulations in the EU. For the love of cod, do not do this. Say no.

  Gunnar Hökmark (PPE). - Mr President, Iceland is a small country but of great importance. It has contributed to forming our understanding of democracy and of the safeguarding of citizens’ rights. There is, in the Nordic area, a mythical character to its democratic tradition that is based on reality.

I think it is important to look at and discuss the details in the negotiations, but also to see the bigger perspective. A European Union reaching from Iceland to Cyprus will not only be a better Union but also a stronger Union. Stronger in the Nordic area, stronger in the Arctic area, but also stronger in the sense that is proving, as Iceland has demonstrated, that you can deal with economic crisis as a modern market economy and you can deal with all the future challenges.

And I think it is important that we secure an agreement with Iceland that can get the full support of the Icelandic people.

  Pat the Cope Gallagher (ALDE). – (GA) Mr President, I welcome the progress made so far in the negotiations between Iceland and the Union. It is an example of the good relationship between the two sides that 11 chapters have been opened and two closed conditionally. I strongly believe that Iceland’s accession to the Union will benefit the Union and Iceland. At the end of the day, it will be a decision for the people of Iceland.

The European Parliament has created strong relations with members of the Althingi. As leader of the European Parliament delegation to Reykjavik, I will be travelling there at the start of next month to attend a Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting. I have tabled a joint amendment with the rapporteur, Mr Preda, and with Mr Färm in a motion on today’s report. Of course, it is a cause of sadness that the coastal states have failed to come to a compromise on the division of mackerel and, at the end of the day, the future of the stock is in danger and we must do our best to bring these people back together, and, of course, the Commission is bringing in new trade measures.

  Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE). - (ES) Mr President, talking of enlargement encourages optimism. No Member State wishes to leave the Union; on the contrary, there are a number of states who wish to join, Iceland among them. I welcome its desire for integration and the rapid pace of adhesion negotiations.

I say adhesion because that is what it is, adhering to and accepting the European Union acquis. In the negotiations, efforts are continuing to define the adaptations that the candidate country needs to make to adopt the acquis and the timescale for this.

In the Commission’s report of October 2011, we were told that as yet, there had been no changes to Icelandic legislation on fisheries, and that it is not in line with the EU acquis, nor are the current restrictions on foreign investment in fisheries consistent with the acquis: they infringe fundamental principles, like the right of establishment and the free movement of capital and services.

Iceland is a major fishing nation, like my own country, Spain and my region, the Autonomous Community of Galicia. Iceland’s accession will strengthen the fisheries sector within the Union, but, Mr President, it cannot remain outside EU law in this sector. I am asking the Commission to pay the closest attention to this issue.

Catch-the-eye procedure

  Petru Constantin Luhan (PPE). - Mr President, first of all, I would like to congratulate Mr Preda for his very good but also realistic report. The 2011 enlargement report on Iceland clearly demonstrates Iceland’s advanced level of preparation. The closure of eight negotiation chapters is most welcome, but the challenging negotiations are yet to come, and I mean here chapters such as fisheries and agriculture, which will need special attention given that circumstances in Iceland are different from those of other European countries.

Greater importance should also be given to negotiations on chapters such as regional policy, the environment and economic and monetary policy. I saw that according to the recent poll, the majority of Icelanders still oppose EU membership, since 67% are against and only 33% in favour of accession, but my remark is that in the last year, support for the EU in both candidate and Member States has been very low, and therefore Iceland should continue to remain committed to the conclusion of the accession talks.

  Robert Atkins (ECR). - Mr President, many of us are ready to welcome Iceland into the European Union, but we have serious reservations about negotiating with a candidate country which is determined to continue in its predation upon the northern European mackerel stocks whilst discussing aspects of the common fisheries policy which it wants to be changed. They are not alone in that.

Iceland has the oldest parliament in the world and we have much in common, but the government and people of Iceland must understand that their intransigence on fisheries and agriculture will require a spirit of flexibility and understanding to overcome this. The British people wish them well in their application.

  Andrew Henry William Brons (NI). - Mr President, if the British Parliament is the mother of parliaments, then the Icelandic Althing is the grandmother of parliaments. With this democratic pedigree, is it really going to give away its independence and its parliamentary democracy to the undemocratic EU, in which the unelected Commission has a monopoly of legislative initiative?

The report, in its patronising way, commends Iceland for its record on human rights. What should Iceland make of such a commendation from an EU with Member States that ban political parties and lock people up for heretical opinions and that has a Commissioner who salivates at the prospect of locking up a well-known Dutch politician?

In the early 1970s, some thought that it was Britain’s irresistible charm and charisma that attracted the EEC. I am afraid not: it was our fish, and that explains Iceland’s popularity too.

All new members are eventually expected to join the euro. Iceland emerged from its crisis by devaluation three years ago, a choice that is not available for a member of the euro area.

  Paul Rübig (PPE). – (DE) Mr President, I am pleased that we have succeeded in taking the discussions with Iceland in a very positive direction. We have made significant progress and have identified joint opportunities for the future, in particular, in the field of energy. Geothermal energy, which I believe is more widespread in Iceland than anywhere else in the world, has excellent export potential and will therefore bring a great deal of revenue into the country. However, Iceland is also heavily involved in tidal power plants and in osmotic power plants, in which electricity is generated from the chemical reaction that takes place when freshwater from a river meets the saltwater in the sea. Iceland is in the position to develop a completely new industry and a promising future for itself. I believe that we have important joint opportunities in this area to create new prosperity for Iceland.

End of the catch-the-eye procedure

  Štefan Füle, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, today’s discussion clearly demonstrates that Iceland is well engaged in the accession process and that continued commitment on all sides should ensure that negotiations can proceed effectively.

As I mentioned, this year will be a decisive year as we are reaching the stage where the real negotiations start. The Commission will exert all efforts to allow the discussions to start as soon as possible on as many chapters as possible, including on the core chapters. In those discussions, we are ready to take into account Iceland’s specificities and expectations, while fully safeguarding the principles of the Union and the requirements of the negotiating framework. I remain confident that, with joint and determined efforts, we will be able to find a win-win solution to overcome the challenges ahead.

I would like to offer my appreciation to the Members of this esteemed House for their continuing support for the ongoing accession process with Iceland.

  Nicolai Wammen, President-in-Office of the Council. – (DA) Mr President, Commissioner Füle, honourable Members, on behalf of the Presidency, I would like to thank you for an excellent and constructive debate in respect of Iceland and the negotiations.

I would like to make it very clear that the Danish Presidency, together with the Commission, will do everything it can to take the negotiations as far forward as possible. We are also working closely with the forthcoming Cyprus Presidency in this regard.

There is no doubt that Iceland has come a long way. Not only will Iceland be able to offer a great deal to the EU, the EU will also be able to offer a great deal to Iceland, and therefore we must now apply all our efforts jointly to get as many chapters opened and closed as possible. We are very well aware that there are difficult challenges ahead with regard to fisheries, but that is a task that we need to seek to fulfil together. The Danish Presidency will do everything in its power to support this process, and we also very much welcome the negotiations between the Commission and Iceland.

  President. – I have received one motion for a resolution tabled in accordance with Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place today at 12.00.

Written statements (Rule 149)

  Zuzana Brzobohatá (S&D), in writing. – (CS) I welcome the developments in Iceland over recent months, particularly with the economic reforms for overcoming the economic crisis, the enhanced internal protection of human rights, anti-corruption measures and the harmonisation of Icelandic legislation with European legislation. Although I am aware that talks on some issues, such as the free movement of capital and fisheries policy, will raise a fresh set of problems, I believe that Iceland has taken a decisive step towards future EU membership. We should not forget, of course, that the final decision will not rest with lawyers or politicians, but with the citizens themselves in a referendum.

  Ivari Padar (S&D), in writing. – (ET) I would like to thank the rapporteur for the balanced text of this resolution! As a Northern European, I am naturally very glad to support Iceland’s accession to the European Union. Iceland is a Nordic country that has long cultural and historic ties with Europe. From my point of view as an Estonian, the small country of Iceland is another good example of a courageous and forward-looking country that stands up for democratic principles. Iceland was also the first country in the world to recognise the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Estonia, for which we are thankful. Of course, the people of Iceland must reach consensus regarding accession. I wish them luck and strength for that task.