Iceland´s government to ask parliament to decide on EU membership

Source: Xinhua | 05-11-2009 08:46

STOCKHOLM, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Iceland's coalition government will ask the parliament to decide whether the country should start membership talks with the European Union (EU), according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik on Sunday.

The two-party coalition government will introduce a bill on whether to seek EU membership in the Icelandic parliament, the Althingi, in coming days, Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said at a press conference.

But the final decision on EU membership would have to be made by all Icelanders through a referendum, she added.

Sigurdardottir's Social Democratic Alliance supports EU membership, while Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson's Left Green Movement opposes it. The issue of EU membership was the major obstacle for the two parties to form a new coalition government after they won the parliamentary election last month.

"This is a compromise. When it comes to voting on the resolution, the members of parliament will only be bound by their own conscience," said Finance Minister Sigfusson.

Public support for joining the EU has risen sharply since Iceland's economic meltdown in October, with an opinion poll last week showing just over 60 percent in favor of accession talks. But the issue remains divisive.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei