An official for the European Union says that the Icesave controversy has no effect on the process of EU membership for Iceland.
Stefan Füle, who has been nominated to oversee the enlargement of the EU, made the statement while taking questions from members of the EU parliament. When asked what effect the president’s veto of the current law and the subsequent fallout has on Iceland’s application for membership, Füle responded that Iceland’s application is dependent on the country’s ability to fulfil it’s obligations to the EU, and that Icesave was a matter wholly unrelated to those obligations.
The news comes at a time when the current Icesave debacle has many worried about the economic and social consequences of the president’s veto, and of a possible defeat of the law by referendum, scheduled for 6 March.
Iceland applied for EU membership last July. Public opinion is fairly evenly divided on the matter, although most Icelanders do not want to join.