9/04/2010

Majority now also against membership talks

For years supporters of membership of the European Union told the Icelandic people it was possible to enter some kind of a scouting membership talks with the EU without any formatlity or obligations. In Icelandic it was called "könnunarviðræður". Membership talks with the sole aim to see exactly what the EU had to offer.

Even when the application for EU membership was delivered last year by the Icelandic government its leaders claimed the aim was not to join the EU but merely to see what it had to offer and they are still saying this. Now they are finally realising that the EU has whole other ideas about the process after the application.

For years public opinion polls as a result showed a majority for "membership talks" while there was usually majority at the same time against in polls asking if people were in favour of "applying for EU membership". But now people have obviously finally realised that some scouting membership talks are not on the table.

As a result a new poll produced for the pro-EU movement in Iceland showed a majority against "membership talks". This was in fact their final straw when it came to public opinion polls and now they don't have that anymore.