Iceland Suspends EU Accession Talks

Trading Discussion News and Economy
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New Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson from the center-right Progressive Party suspended talks to join the EU as well as the Eurozone as voters handed him and his party a mandate to govern the tiny island nation. He did acknowledge that Iceland needs to strive for the same economic goals as the EU, but that the country decided to do so outside of the instability of the EU and the Eurozone.

This just shows how big the problems really are as countries who sought membership now change their mind and decide to go their own path to stable economic performance as well as sound fiscal management. In my opinion this points to either a break-up of both the EU as well as Eurozone or to required structural changes in the world’s biggest economy.
Here are some articles which talk more in depth about the Icelandic decision to stop accession talks:

[ul]
[li]Iceland PM suspends EU accession talks but embraces its economic goals – The Globe and Mail
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[/li][li]Iceland’s new coalition government suspends EU accession talks – Financial Times
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[/li][li]Iceland Suspends Negotiations on EU Membership – Paxforex
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[/li][li]Iceland Suspends E.U. Talks Ahead of Elections – The New York Times
[/li][li]
[/li][/ul]

What do you guys think about this?

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I sincerely think that Iceland should not enter this ophidiarium unless the structural problems of the EU is not solved. If Eurocommission or World Bank give Iceland money, that would be a funeral march for the country’s economy, just like it happens in Greece.

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I think Iceland took the right step; why would you want to jump a sinking ship? The EU and Eurozone both need structural changes and therefore Iceland does the right thing by waiting until they have been implemented and remain distant from the contagion that’s burning up the Eurozone. The problems have not faded away and we will see more fall-out and a further deterioration of this. The same holds true for the U.S. Keep drinking that koolaid, but that is all you are doing if you honestly believe the U.S. has turned the corner.