| Author (Person) | Gemers, Tim |
|---|---|
| Publisher | College of Europe |
| Series Title | EU Diplomacy Papers |
| Series Details | No.4, August 2015 |
| Publication Date | July 2015 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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In the aftermath of the 2008 banking crisis in Iceland, the Nordic country in July 2009 applied for membership of the European Union (EU). Yet public support for this move has always been marginal and in March 2015 Iceland’s government requested that the country should no longer be regarded as a candidate country. This paper seeks to find out what the main reasons are behind the anti-EU stance in the Icelandic population. Thanks to an extensive online survey carried out by the author, it could be confirmed that the protection of the Icelandic fishing and agriculture sectors worries the Icelanders most, followed by the perception that Iceland is too small to influence decision-making in Brussels. In general, the population adopts a rational cost-benefit analysis to conclude that their country is better off outside the EU. Sentimental issues, such as the lack of an identity connection with the European mainland or the protection of (what some see as) their whaling tradition, take less prominence in this debate. |
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| Source Link | https://www.coleurope.eu/sites/default/files/research-paper/edp_5_2014_borreschmidt.pdf |
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| Countries / Regions | Europe, Iceland, Northern Europe |
