PM: “People Should Maybe Calm Down A Little”

Prime Minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, has implied people are overreacting to the plans to end accession talks with the EU, reports DV.

In an interview with Ísland í dag (Iceland Today) the prime minister said the proposal to end accession talks with the European Union was in part to cater to the EU, who called for the government to take a formal position on the accession negotiations.

“All this controversy around [the proposal to end EU accession talks] has been a bit peculiar because it’s really just about making the government’s stance on the matter clear. A stance that has been made in the past,” said the prime minister. “This is not a natural disaster, and the media coverage of this has been as one sided as I have ever seen it. People should maybe calm down a little and have a look at what’s happening.”

The prime minister said the stance of the government was that “Iceland is better off without the European Union, we don’t want to join the European Union, and should therefore obviously not be in talks to join the European Union.”

Yesterday, roughly 4000 people protested the decision by the ruling Independence and Progressive Parties to put forth a proposal to end EU talks.  Further protests areexpected today.