Open Letter to the European Union from the People of Iceland

Dear European Union,

As an Icelandic citizen, I want to make it absolutely clear that the actions of the Icelandic Foreign Minister this evening are not done in my name. In fact, if social media is to believed, the vast majority of the nation seems to be outraged by this latest blunder.

A year ago, the same government tried to get parliament to pass a bill, withdrawing the application for EU membership. They did not have parliamentary support and the nation reacted strongly against the proposal. Eventually, the bill was binned.

On Thursday 12 March 2015, the government acted without consulting the parliament or the nation when they informed the EU that Iceland was no longer an accession state. By doing so without consulting the parliament, they probably broke laws. They certainly broke parlamentary conventions. The membership application from 2009 has not been overturned and is still, legally, in effect.

Looking at recent polls, the two coalition parties, especially the Progressive Party, which our Foreign Minister belongs to, are a shadow of what they were at the elections in 2013. If elections were held today, they would receive less that 10% of the vote. This is the party that believes they can make unilateral decisions about something as important as EU membership.

More than half of the population (53% according to a February 2015 poll) is against withdrawing the application and support for membership is increasing. 67.5% want a referendum on membership. A unilateral decision behind closed doors is not something we, the Icelandic people, appreciate or tolerate. The nation is torn on whether to become an EU-member, but the general consensus seems to be that the way this government operates is perfectly unacceptable in a democracy.

Please disregard the message from Mr. Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson. He does not have the support of the parliament and he certainly does not have support from the people. Unless this matter blows up in his face, forcing early elections, we will have to wait until spring 2017 to get rid of the incompetent and corrupt government we so foolishly voted for. It will be two long years, but until then, please don’t take them seriously. They are not speaking on behalf of the Icelandic nation and they will certainly be voted out.

I apologise for my government and hope you have the good sense not to take them seriously. The majority of Icelanders have certainly stopped doing so.