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Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

bbc.com

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Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#81

Post by bsian »

kuboble wrote: post #46
troupo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Norway and Switzerland are in the EU in all but final signatures ar this point: they are fully ibtegrated into EU economy, apply EU's laws and regulations and even pay into EU funds.

Speaking of Switzerland - no it absolutely is not. Is far from being fully integrated into EU. You have to pay customs on shipments, which can be delayed for weeks on borders. You need to apply for the residence permit and you can lose it for trivially sounding reasons. - E.g. lying on the application which could mean " you mentioned in the application you wull look for job but lied and went to learn the language ins…

They should have considered not lying in their residence permit applications. I mean, what you are saying sounds like completely reasonable reasons to deport someone. They lied because they knew their application would’ve been denied had they said the truth.

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#82

Post by croes »

znpy wrote: post #43
croes wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know how it was before?

Much better? The main issue i see is the euro as a single currency. Individual nations cannot modulate their monetary policy according to their needs. Most other stuff is okay.

Can you imagine the current US government vs. European countries without the EU?

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#84

Post by ajsnigrutin »

mixdup wrote: post #67

It seems odd to hold a referendum on holding talks. Why not just negotiate an agreement and then hold a referendum on that agreement?

What agreement? To join the EU you must change a lot of internal structures in your own government first, a lor of regulations must be changed to align with EU versions, laws have to be changed, even basics, like drivers licences and other documents.

Why spend millions if not billions on all that, impose laws that are maybe bad for normal people, and then figure out that people don't actually want to join the EU?

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#85

Post by mixdup »

coldtea wrote: post #78
mixdup wrote: post #67

It seems odd to hold a referendum on holding talks. Why not just negotiate an agreement and then hold a referendum on that agreement?

Because if the people don't want to join in the first place, why hold negotiations to begin with?

Polling would be good enough I would think here, do a poll and if you're within 10% of a majority being in favor, just do it and then let them decide on the final agreement. Be public with that stance so that the EU and the population know that the public will have the final say and we (the gov) aren't trying to railroad this

Maybe in a country the size of Iceland it's not as big a deal to run an election but it seems like a lot of work for what is just an advisory vote

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#86

Post by phatfish »

znpy wrote: post #53

Btw this referendum is about starting the talks, not about joining or not joining. If the result is “yes” then a proposal with all terms and conditions for joining will be written down, and the Icelanders will vote again on whether to accept those terms and conditions or not.

Sounds like the way a certain referendum to do the opposite should have been run.

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#87

Post by dgellow »

bArray wrote: post #39
ktallett wrote: post #2

It's a hard one. I feel the UK were wrong to leave but Norway and Switzerland have a fantastic overall quality of life without and I'm not sure the benefits of membership unless you are financially poor country. Iceland is probably better off joining the Schengen but not EU.

> I feel the UK were wrong to leave [..] Whether it was the correct decision or not, it was done via a democratic vote. Now the leaders of the UK look to entangle the UK into the EU structure that is evidently against their mandate.

The vote wasn’t binding and had a low turnout. Not really a good example to point to for democratic voting

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#88

Post by mixdup »

ajsnigrutin wrote: post #84
mixdup wrote: post #67

It seems odd to hold a referendum on holding talks. Why not just negotiate an agreement and then hold a referendum on that agreement?

What agreement? To join the EU you must change a lot of internal structures in your own government first, a lor of regulations must be changed to align with EU versions, laws have to be changed, even basics, like drivers licences and other documents. Why spend millions if not billions on all that, impose laws that are maybe bad for normal people, and then figure out that people don't actually want to join the EU?

You would hold the confirmatory vote before you do all of that. You'd go to the EU, agree what joining looks like, and before doing any of the actual implementation you hold the vote

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#89

Post by chicken-stew »

glimshe wrote: post #22
ekidd wrote: post #7

> The No campaign fears losing control over Iceland's prized fishing grounds under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and has vowed never to share the country's waters with anyone. Brussels has indicated Iceland could earn some kind of exemption, but it is considered potentially the biggest obstacle to any agreement. As noted in the article, Iceland's fishing industry makes up something like 40% of their exports. Which…

They export good music too (Bjork and Sigur Ros)!

And games.

Re: Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

#90

Post by thih9 »

mixdup wrote: post #67

It seems odd to hold a referendum on holding talks. Why not just negotiate an agreement and then hold a referendum on that agreement?

I guess one does not “just negotiate an agreement” for something like this.

And perhaps two referendums and working incrementally is wise in general, given the mess that was Brexit.

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