Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-04-06-Speech-3-599-000"
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"en.20110406.35.3-599-000"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow’s vote is one of the steps which will soon lead to the accession of Iceland to the European Union.
Iceland has made significant progress, as Mr Preda said. I will mention a few examples: the strengthening of judicial independence, a special commission of inquiry to investigate and analyse the processes that led to the collapse of the Icelandic banking system, the creation of a joint Parliamentary Committee between the European Union and Iceland, the situation regarding entry into the euro area, increased experience in the renewable energy sector.
The very thorny issue of ‘Icesave remains open, and on Saturday there will be a referendum which will bring Icelanders to the polls. Although the outcome of the referendum is a matter of debate, I think it has very strong democratic value because it gives the people of Iceland a sense of responsibility and involves them even more in this delicate stage of negotiations. Although the first referendum did not bring a positive result, the Icelandic Government has worked hard to create a broad coalition capable of explaining to citizens the reason for Iceland’s commitment to reimbursing the UK and the Netherlands for the damage they suffered.
Europe’s role at this time should be one of patience and respect, without exerting excessive pressure which might cause some sort of self-defence and closure in Icelandic society.
With regard to fisheries and agriculture, I believe that Europe and Iceland must find the best solution to meet the criteria established in the Treaty and to preserve the Icelandic economy, ecosystems and the country’s specific characteristics.
The accession of Iceland to the European Union will mean that Europe moves towards the North Pole, with significant positive effects in the political, economic, environmental and scientific fields. It is clear that belonging to Europe, sixty years on, is still an attractive possibility."@en1
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