The Icelandic Minister for Foreign Affairs has appointed Iceland’s negotiation committee for the upcoming accession negotiations with the European Union. Ambassador Stefan Haukur Johannesson is the Chief negotiator and will lead the negotiation committee. The negotiation committee consists of the Chief negotiator, 10 chairpersons of individual negotiation teams and seven other members.
The negotiation committee of Iceland consists of the following individuals:
Chief Negotiator:
Mr. Stefan Haukur Johannesson, Ambassador of Iceland to the EU
Deputy Chairpersons:
Ms. Bjorg Thorarensen, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Iceland
Mr. Thorsteinn Gunnarsson, former Rector of the University of Akureyri, and Rannís expert
Members:
Ms. Greta Gunnarsdottir, Director-General, Directorate for International and Security Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Mr. Hogni S. Kristjansson, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Ms. Kolfinna Johannesdóttir, MA in Economics
Mr. Martin Eyjolfsson, Director-General, Directorate for External Trade and Economic Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Mr. Sturla Sigurjonsson, Foreign Policy Advisor, Prime Minister´s Office
Mr. Thorsteinn Palsson, Lawyer
Chairpersons of negotiation teams:
EEA II, social policy, services, investment, environmental policy, etc.
Ms. Anna Johannsdottir, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Legal issues
Ms. Bjorg Thorarensen, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Iceland
EEA I, goods, energy, competition, etc.
Ms. Bryndis Kjartansdottir, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Fisheries
Mr. Kolbeinn Arnason, lawyer, former Director, Ministry of Fisheries
Foreign and Security Affairs
Ms. Maria Erla Marelsdottir, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Financial Affairs
Ms. Marianna Jonasdottir, Director, Ministry of Finance
Economic and Monetary Affairs
Mr. Mar Gudmundsson, Governor, Central Bank of Iceland
Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments
Ms. Ragnheidur Elfa Thorsteinsdottir, Director, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Justice and Home Affairs
Ms. Ragnhildur Helgadottir, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Reykjavik
Agriculture and Rural Development
Mr. Sigurgeir Thorgeirsson, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture
Appointments were based on the majority opinion of the Icelandic Parliament´s Foreign Affairs Committee on Iceland’s application for membership of the European Union. Special emphasis was placed on individual negotiating experience and expert knowledge of the issues, and that accession negotiations are the collective responsibility of the entire Icelandic Government and administration. The Negotiation committee is gender equal.
The ten negotiation teams mentioned above will work closely with the negotiation committee. They will consist of representatives from ministries and agencies, as well as representatives from interested parties, organizations and the academic community. Domestic and foreign experts will also work with the negotiation teams.
The European Commission is expected to submit its opinion on Iceland’s application for membership of the EU to the European Council in the coming weeks or months. Member States will decide on starting accession negotiations with Iceland based on the Commission’s opinion.
Further information on the negotiation committee, including biographies of individual members, will be available on the Foreign Ministry’s homepage www.mfa.is.
> Don Franco’s ‘disclaimer’ is the proof that he belongs to the most rotten European’s Peninsula. Nearly 60 million people who lack a proper mind. [among natives – everywhere] :D
As someone else already said : densou,please, shut up!And instead of insulting people, you should try hard to make your ‘disclaimers’ more clear : even this time i have no idea of what you are trying to say.Maybe it’s just my lack of proper mind.
This vague ideas, vague promises about EU being good for Iceland are just snake oil.
First it is that there will be no special deals or favours in ascession. That is the EU law. We will not get any such favours. If we do it show just how desperate EU commission is to get Iceland in.
Best that Social Democrats can come up with for reason to join EU is that somehow magically loans we have to pay get less ( due to banking mess). My gods! I think they had better come up with something better than that.
Reason Social Democrat factions like EU is that it allows them to get their ideas implemented from above — through adoption of EU laws and of course they get they nice salaries paid for by being part of EU commission or parliament machinery.
Did you know that now it is not allowed for someone to hold both EU political position and also local political position? You must choose between local political alegience or alegiance to EU parliament.
The Social Democrat like this idea because they:
i) get they nice salaries paid for indicrectly by Icelandic taxpayer. They get really nice expenses to abuse under EU rules for commission and parliament,
ii) they get to push they agenda and ideas because many are already part of EU directives, many ideas being alien to Icelandic way of thinking, so they get them this way without having to ask Icelanders to vote for it, it just happen autmatically as part of forced adoption of EU directives.
So, what exactly is the reason for jointhe EU again — for Mr Jón Jónsson his wife and family?
I mean not politicians and burecrats who will do just fine out of it. I mean everyone else.
The ones that work for a living and pay they taxes ( which now are going to go up due to Social Democrats knee jerk reaction to everything — make more equality by raising taxes — which of course mean everyone become more equally poor ).
What an incredible waste of time and money.
They dont care about any thing else ; bank reconstruction, tax on people, Icesave negotiation, future debts on children and grandchilds.
It is quite amazing how far they float away from the actual majortity of people in Iceland.
This EU at any cost Red-Green government are going on as if they actually have mandate for what they are doing but they dont.
Take for example opinion polls of Capacent from 31st October here..
http://www.amx.is/stjornmal/11051/
44% have no trust of the EU
30% not decided on trust in EU
25% have trust in it
The more this application process move forward the less and less Icelanders want any thing to do with it.
Common Fisheries Policy ( as abmoniable as it is ) is least of problems with EU.
It is about why we want more ( all ) EU laws implemented at our cost on everything Icelanders must do. And loss of control of our dealings with other countries which then become the domain of the EU burecrats ( because foreign trade is under control of EU commission not EU member states ).
Under qualified majority voting which will be the rule by the time that Iceland would enter EU gods help us if that were to happen — Icelanders would have literally 0.1% influence over decision making and law passing.
How in any possible way can going from 100% influence over laws to 0.1% with a massive increase in costs and restriction of what can be done, be rational at all?
This was discuss in detail here for example :
https://www.icenews.is/index.php/2009/04/29/international-interest-in-iceland’s-eu-position-persists/#comment-74169
Don Franco’s ‘disclaimer’ is the proof that he belongs to the most rotten European’s Peninsula. Nearly 60 million people who lack a proper mind. [among natives – everywhere] :D
>“ANTI something” is usally sign of lack of constructive and genuine political ideas IMHO
Totally agree, which is why I used “anti” ;) .
Nothing wrong with being eurosceptic, especially if one is an Icelander. If I were an Icelander I’d be eurosceptic and, unless there was a major opt out of the Common Fisheries Policy, I’d be voting “no”.
>Iceland will not join without submitting the question to the people via a referendum.
Thank you very much, as an anti-EU non Icelander (well, nicer to say Eurosceptic : qualifying yourself as “ANTI something” is usally sign of lack of constructive and genuine political ideas IMHO ), i ‘m very happy for your prompt and kind elucidation.
It’s understandable that you’d be confused, as a number of anti-EU Icelanders have been very vocal about how the decision was made without consulting them.
Iceland has applied to join. This is necessary for negotiations to begin.
Iceland will not join without submitting the question to the people via a referendum.
At this point my question is : WILL people of Iceland have the opportunity to vote for entering the EU?
Or the YES has already been decided?
Joining with the EU will destroy the culture of ‘Island
Not sure about balls of steel, but they have good salary for sure…
So my question – if PEOPLE of Iceland vote No to EU – will salary of those “negotiators” cut for the hours wasted for rolling balls?
That’s a lot of negotiators. I hope they all have big balls of steel.