The biggest potential obstacle is fishing rights, a major industry in Iceland, and a key issue during previous negotiations. As a high-ranking EU official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: «Ultimately, it's about the fish, that was always the issue». According to Politico, it is expected that the Icelandic Parliament will announce the date for a referendum on joining the European Union in the coming weeks. This step follows a series of visits by EU politicians to Iceland and Icelandic politicians to Brussels. One of the politicians stated that if Icelanders vote «yes», it is possible that they could join the Union before any other candidate country. EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Maroš Šefčovič, who met with Iceland's Foreign Minister Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir in Brussels last month, said: «The dialogue on enlargement is changing, it increasingly concerns security, belonging and preserving our ability to act in a world where the competition for influence is intensifying, and this matters to all Europeans». Meanwhile, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met with Iceland's Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir in Brussels last month, stating that their partnership «provides stability and predictability in a volatile world». Von der Leyen, who visited Iceland in July, also praised the country for enhancing cooperation with the EU. The European official is scheduled to visit the Arctic region again next March. Rising threats. Talks on deepening relations with Iceland and possibly even resuming accession talks began last year, before the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House. An EU official, who preferred to remain anonymous, noted that Brussels was already paying increased attention to this strategically important country. However, rising threats from the United States, including a statement from Trump's nominee for ambassador to Iceland, Billy Long, that the country would become the 52nd U.S. state and he would be its governor, have escalated the situation. Another EU official familiar with the matter said: «I think Trump mentioning Iceland four times in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos while talking about Greenland certainly caught attention», adding that this «must be worrying for a small state». Geopolitical situation. Iceland applied to join the EU in 2009 at the peak of the global financial crisis, which led to the collapse of its three largest commercial banks. However, the government froze the talks in December 2013, as the Icelandic economy recovered quickly while economists warned of a potential collapse of the eurozone. In March 2015, Reykjavik asked that Iceland no longer be considered a candidate country. However, the geopolitical situation has changed dramatically over the past decade. Iceland occupies a strategically important position in the North Atlantic south of the Arctic Circle. The country does not have an army and relies on its security through its membership in NATO and a bilateral defense agreement with the United States signed in 1951. Public opinion. It appears that this reality, along with the economic benefits of joining the EU, is contributing to a more favorable public opinion towards the possibility of accession. Polls show a rise in support. However, as stated by Iceland's former President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, the path to EU membership will not be easy and may face some political obstacles. Trump's nominee for U.S. ambassador to Iceland said the country would become the 52nd U.S. state and he would be its governor. Iceland does not have an army and relies on its security through its membership in NATO and a bilateral defense agreement with the United States signed in 1951.
