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Unlike the candidate countries that had previously applied to join the European Union, Iceland’s accession process is extremely smooth and fast. In July 2009, Iceland officially submitted its application. It was approved by the EU summit in June this year. It was approved by the European Parliament on July 7. It was approved by the EU foreign ministers' committee on July 26, and it officially started the accession negotiation process on July 27. . As a small island country with huge debt burden, almost bankruptcy and a poor international image, Iceland does not seem to meet the criteria for the EU to accept new members. Some European observers believe that the reason why the EU accepted Iceland quickly was not only to help Iceland, but also to expand the EU’s geo-strategic interests and seek Arctic oil and gas resources. The German ARD television station had previously reported that after the accession of Iceland, the EU will expand its presence in the Arctic region, where there is an extremely rich oil and gas reserve and it is of very important strategic significance. At present, the EU can only participate in the development of the Arctic with this member state of Denmark. Denmark, which has Greenland, and the United States, Russia, Canada, and Norway are the most important Arctic countries. The issue of international cooperation in the use of resources in the Arctic region is now of increasing practical significance. During the visit of the Russian President to Denmark and Norway in April this year, the issue of the Arctic was discussed. Therefore, there is reason to speculate that the EU will, to a certain extent, hope to expand its position and prospects in the Arctic region during its accession negotiations with Iceland.
In 2008, when the world financial crisis broke out, Iceland was carrying huge debts, many banks went bankrupt, the country was facing bankruptcy crisis, and it was forced to ask for loan assistance everywhere. It even turned to Russia for assistance. It finally placed its hopes on the EU and applied for membership. Although the accession negotiations have already begun, half of the people in Iceland still hold a negative attitude toward the EU. First, because the EU has not provided a lot of assistance to Iceland at the time of the worst crisis, the second is that the EU itself also faces many difficulties and its ability to shake off the crisis. It is not convincing. Third, Icelanders still have some practical considerations. They fear that after entering the alliance, people’s living standards will be reduced. The main reason is that the fishery income may drop drastically. Fisheries account for half of Iceland’s export revenues, of which 70% of seafood products come from the 200-mile economic zone. Once it joins the EU, Iceland must open its own waters to other allies, especially the United Kingdom, which may result in greater fiscal revenue in Iceland. influences. In addition, once it joins the European Union, Iceland will also abandon the lucrative whaling industry.
According to the report of the Russian media on July 28, the EU officially started the negotiation process of Iceland’s accession to the EU on July 27, and it is expected that Iceland will become the 29th member state of the EU after Croatia in 2012. The reason why the Iceland admission process is so quick may be closely related to the EU’s desire to seek access to Arctic oil and gas resources.