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Icelandic MPs back EU entry bid | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Parliament in Iceland has voted by a narrow majority to set in motion an application to join the European Union, after five days of exhaustive debate. | |
Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir of the Social Democrats has also been pushing for the adoption of the euro as the Nordic country's currency. | |
The bid must now be approved by the EU, after which Iceland's people will be asked to vote on it in a referendum. | |
Opponents of the bid fear EU quotas could hurt Iceland's fishing industry. | |
Correspondents say Iceland, with a population of just 320,000, has traditionally been sceptical about joining the EU. | |
But many people there have warmed to the idea of membership following the devastating economic meltdown which saw the top Icelandic banks collapse in a matter of days last year. | |
The government will formally submit Iceland's bid to the EU in Brussels on 27 July, at a meeting of its foreign ministers. | |
Members of the 63-seat Althingi, Iceland's parliament, backed the proposal to start membership talks with the EU by 33 votes to 28, with two abstentions. | |
Five members of the Left Green party, the Social Democrats' partner in the coalition government, rejected it, AFP news agency reports. | |
The Social Democrats and the Left Greens formed a government at the end of April following a general election. | |
Are you in Iceland? Do you think Iceland should join the EU? What do you think would be the benefits or drawbacks of membership? Send us your comments using the form below. | Are you in Iceland? Do you think Iceland should join the EU? What do you think would be the benefits or drawbacks of membership? Send us your comments using the form below. |
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