It’s published
European Commission Chairman Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the EU will begin consultations with Iceland on a security and defense partnership.
“We will work more closely on hybrid threat response, civil protection and safe communication,” von der Leyen said in a post on X after a press conference in Keflavik with Iceland’s Prime Minister Christol Fustadottil.
Frostadóttir said he hopes the talks will be over by the end of the year.
“It’s very important to show that we can work with critical infrastructure, civil protection, and dual use defense investments of all kinds, including hybrid and cyber threats,” she said.
The agreement with the EU is unrelated to Iceland’s NATO membership and existing defense agreements with the US, state public broadcaster Rúv said.
“With this agreement, Iceland is also entering European security and defining cooperation,” von der Leyen said.
“We already have eight allies, including Norway, the UK and Canada. This agreement gives us access to secure projects that invest around 150 billion euros per year in security and defense.”
At the meeting, Frostadóttir said that a comprehensive review of Iceland’s terms of trade with the European Union, which was announced in December 2023, will also be launched soon.
The Icelandic government said in December that it aims to put the issue of EU membership into the referendum by 2027.
Frostadóttir’s administration also said it would set up a panel of experts to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the Icelandic crown over the adoption of the euro.
Support for EU membership among Iceland’s population is growing, according to a poll conducted by market research firm Maskína last June.
In that poll, which found only 54% of respondents were in favor of joining the bloc, the majority said they consider households financially superior as part of the EU.
This was an important swing in favour of membership in the country, which is generally vague about joining the EU.
