Iceland Relationship with the European Union: How Iceland Almost Joined the EU - TLDR News

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In 2009 Iceland applied to join the EU following the collapse of their local currency. However, a few years later the country changed its mind and fundamentally shifted their relationship with the union. In this video, we examine why Iceland ever wanted to join, why they changed their mind and how the two sides work together today.
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1 - www.efta.int/About-EFTA/EFTA-...
2 - ec.europa.eu/world/agreements...
3 - eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...
4 - ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-en...
5 - ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasm...
6 - ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/cou...
7 - www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-e...
8 - www.civitas.org.uk/content/fi...
9 - www.euractiv.com/section/enla...
10 - www.theguardian.com/world/201...
11 - ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-en...
12 - www.euractiv.com/section/enla...
13 - www.theguardian.com/world/201...
14 - ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-en...
15 - mmr.is/evropusambandid
16 - www.visir.is/g/2015150329825/...
17 - ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/cou...
18 - www.theguardian.com/world/200...
19 - www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-e...
20 - www.theguardian.com/money/200...
21 - www.theguardian.com/money/200...
22 - news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politic...
23 - www.civitas.org.uk/content/fi...

[@handbanana4899]

TLDR taught me that fishing is literally the European Union's greatest threat.

[@blackappleslo]

Well I’m from Slovenia and we also had a conflict with Croatia about our coast and fishing. Apparently it’s really a big problem 😂

[@blackappleslo]

Nspnspker exactly. I think this is just a political thing so the citizens of both countries would hate each other. Because I guess on 46 km of coast, there aren’t that many fishes (especially high quality ones). But it’s still kinda funny that the conflict are the fishes

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Joining the EU has destryed my countries fishing industry. And form that comment alone you can not guess my fatherland.

[@Perplexum]

@@blackappleslo But it also shows that such disputes can be resolved eventually. Sadly the then new islandic government cancelled the negotiations so we will never know if a compromise could have been reached.

[@victorcapel2755]

Fishing is a contageus issue globaly. A lot of conflicts has erupted because of it (Cod Wars between UK and Iceland in the 70s that saw actuall skirmishes between the Icelandic Coast Guards and Brittish Navy), the conflict between the two NATO-Allies Spain and Canada in the early 2000s that saw similar actions, all the ruckas in the South China Sea to name a few very recent ones. And it only going to get worse since the fish stocks are collapsing globaly and the oceans becomes emptier and emptier for each year due to overfishing.

[@cyrilio]

It's always fishing

[@solosunbeam]

Bloody fishermen! 🐟

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

Joining the EU has destryed my countries fishing industry. And form that comment alone you can not guess my fatherland.

[@dutchuncle3310]

The only reason for Iceland to join would be out of self preservation. Since there are no major issues threatening Iceland’s economy or national security for the foreseeable future there are no good reasons to join the EU. As it stands Iceland could be largely self sufficient if it had the political will to do so.

[@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714]

@@dutchuncle3310 Iceland lacks energy to be self suficient, tho it can be independant if the entire world does not turn on them.

[@dutchuncle3310]

Baltu Lielkungs Gunārs Miezis judging by your name I accept you know much more about Iceland then I do. Although I would hazard I guess Iceland could generate all the electricity it needs by using geothermal sources and wind energy. Iceland has enough of both.

[@DarkHarlequin]

TLDR: "The biggest issue seems to be... fishing!" Me: "Oh I have heard THAT story before on this chanel havn't I?" x-D

[@EduardoEscarez]

TLDR EU: Somehow, it always came down to fishing.

[@robot4jarvis836]

Fishing for TL;DR EU is like airplanes for Wendover Productions

[@gokulbalagopalpayyanur8080]

Fishing is discussed not because tldr wants it, it is discussed due to its importance in EU negotiation

[@DarkHarlequin]

@@robot4jarvis836 True x-D

[@Luredreier]

Also EU policies on the area sucks.

[@economicsinaction]

Iceland getting some airtime on TLDR It would be cool to see a series explaining the relationships between Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, etc. and the EU as well

[@thefrenchbastard1646]

those countries sound hot not cool:P

[@dazza2350]

i think they all use the euro due to a deal with the eu but aren't officially in the Union

[@imeepysleepy]

icelander here, and ye!!!! theres alot they could cover hehe

[@MrSeal-oy3fu]

They should talk about the relations with the EU and every country that is in it. How they co-operate, how and why they joined, what's their economical, social and political status and how does that country's future look

[@theconqueringram5295]

Being an island country, fishing would be a pretty important issue.

[@chrisj9700]

@Saturday Not really, the EU want to maintain control over UK fishing waters and Nigel Farage will raise hell if the UK government capitulates.

[@dvklaveren]

I don't think that Europe should get fishing rights in Iceland, nor vice versa. We can keep these things separate and still have them join the union some day. My concern is that the EU has been admitting too many members as it stands. We need to work towards improving internal affairs before expanding again. Every new member complicates the voting process.

[@blackappleslo]

I think the extension in 2004 and 2007 were a bit to optimistic. A lot of countries joined the EU that nowadays want way more independence (Hungary, Poland, etc.). I really think this is the field where EU needs to be more tough.

[@randuru]

@@blackappleslo In my opinion it is just a temporary setback in these countries. What we see there is the last fight of the 'old guards' for a prolonged 20th century of nation states and national independence. Within ten, fifteen years the new, let's call them '21st century' generation will take over, and the old ghosts will disappear.

[@BB-hx4mj]

blackappleslo there is one problem in your statement, they are independent and sovereign, it’s just populist mantra that being in the EU means that you’re not independent.

[@randuru]

@Stephen Jenkins Being within the EU doesn't hurt the common man or woman, it helps them improving their everyday lives in many ways. It certainly hurts certain parts of the elites, who used to rule their country like it was their personal property. But that needs to end anyway.

[@randuru]

@Stephen Jenkins I can really understand your frustration, but in my opinion the EU is the wrong addressee. The EU isn't some kind of alien power that tries to take over the rule. The EU is what the member states want her to be. And of course every little change needs a long and hard fight and expects a lot of compromise to reach the main goals. If your motto is 'All or nothing' you will not achieve anything. Never ever in human history has a bunch of very different nations (or nation states) tried to form some kind of supranational political entity without leading war. But of course this is difficult and full of setbacks. But in the end of the day it's the only way forward for us. And the more the people within the member states sucure an open and democratic development of their countries the faster and more progressive the EU will be able to act. Please think in decades here and not quarters. 😉

[@ExploreLearnEnglishWithGeorge]

worht to mention: 1. Iceland is heavily integrated into the European Union via the European Economic Area and the Schengen Agreement, despite its status as a non-EU member state. (not even the UK as a member state had it ever implemented the Schengen agreement!) 2. Iceland is legally bound to implement into its own law all EU directives applicable to the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. In other terms Iceland is pretty much a EU country, but to protect farmers and fishermen it opted out from an 'official' membership but it accepts all EU laws without having any input into making these laws (because they are not a member state - because of their farmers and fishermen) I thought that this was worth to mention for all those who don't know.

[@dny9394]

Factually in error and deliberately distorting reality. Iceland incorporates about 20% of the Acquis into its domestic Law that's all and they are outside the Common Fisheries Policy so they have total control of their fishing. 100% period. Fisheries is just about all that they have for industry but it is a world class industry, fully sustainable and the EU cannot have it!!

[@rw2993]

"The EU would be willing to compromise on fishing" - not bloody likely.

[@deasttttt]

Well they would probably be much more interested when a country is trying to join and when the situation overall isn't such a mess. Probably not to the extent Iceland would like to though.

[@12345678981010]

@ML8593wy a strategick land mass in the north sea. so eu can be more of a player in the arctic region

[@aresivrc1800]

The EU likely would compromise quite easily.... the member states sadly not so much.

[@baldurelitraustason662]

Tldr thank you for accepting my suggestion on doing a video on the relationship between Iceland and EU

[@Ludix147]

By the way, I think it's awesome that you are producing media explicitly for the whole EU! You're the only media outlet I know of that does that, and it's so important to have a pan-European perspective on many issues!

You're kind of missing the issue that Gunnar Bragi withdrew Icelands application to the EU WITHOUT notifying or discussing it with parliament (we damn near had a revolution because of it)

[@jacobsxavier6082]

Are revolution just for that ? For the democratic principle or something else ?

[@andrasadam8256]

Seriously? I haven't even heard about that. Maybe the population would have supported membership sometime in the future, and it was just one politician who withdrew the application? I hope that sometime soon an actual referendum can be held, and hopefully the EU application can proceed, maybe with some special treatment in the fisheries policy.

@@jacobsxavier6082 the democratic principle of one man withdrawing Iceland without discussion or notice (the EU ministers got notice before the Icelandic parliament) is one thing. But also going around all established principles and not even getting reprimanded by the then acting government made a lot of people very angry (those not in favor of EU were also annoyed but kept silent because they got the results they wanted)

[@jacobsxavier6082]

@ Thanks for the info ^^

[@svavarkjarrval8757]

The letter Gunnar Bragi sent was worded in a way that it wasn't clear if Iceland was formally withdrawing from the application process or not. The negotiations stopped though and the EU eventually dropped Iceland from the list of applicants.

[@silveryuno]

0:17 I swear I heard you say "Latv... Iceland!"

[@andriandrason1318]

That of Iceland.

[@birgirkarl]

A very valuable and accurate reporting on the story and relationship of IS-EU. Thanks for a good video.

[@KAMiKAZOW]

Iceland pays money to the EU, decided to follow lots of EU regulations to give EU members free access to its market, and yet has absolutely no say in making of those laws. As an EU citizen, I find this a very sweet deal for us -- especially the part of giving us money. No idea why any country would want permanent EEA status over full EU membership, thereby have an actual say in the laws they have to follow.

[@AaronOkeanos]

Norways seem to like the way it is. It seems EU laws are not as bad as Brexiteers are belching around.

[@Mosern1977]

Old, but still relevant. Norway can in theory veto any EU laws it doesn't like. And when just a small player, having veto-rights is much more valuable than voting rights.

[@tomasbickel58]

Living in Iceland: Similar situation like in UK. A few families own major stakes in the fishing quotas, thus have no interest EU common fishing grounds, pumping money into anti-EU-sentiment - but not as overt as in the UK. Further more, like old Italy, Iceland has regularly devalued its currency when the wages became noncompetitive. Latest example: in '17 the exchange rate was 110isk/€, the Icelandic Tourism Association complainted, asking for 120+. three month later it was at 128. The Icelandic oligarchs, playing the banking game before 2008, are not as noisy as, let's say Russians, more German quite, but not as distinguished as "British Lordship" - it has at bit New Money flair over it, but not annoying.

[@swatmajor1]

I think the relationship as it stands is fine. There is mutual benefit but Iceland gets to retain control over their major economic industry

[@ukmaxi]

@trevo1987 I gather there would be a greater will to offer Iceland good enough concessions since Iceland itself is quite distant for most other nations to even bother venturing that far. I know the point is that there is a shared pool of fishing and it's also to prevent over fishing, but, I think they could still have a monopoly over their current fishing waters.

[@iainmclaughlin3698]

@trevo1987 outside of the common fisheries policy, independent & like Norway annual negotiations over 4 fish breeds. This is where UK's current request to "be the same as Norway" falls flat as there will be requirement to negotiate for over 40 fish breeds,no easy task on annual basis. Iceland & Norway also have a tri-party 'deal' with Russia. The ability to maintain eea/sm access & strike deals via efta or bilaterals with other nations is the flexibility that secures trade growth both in & outside of the eea agreement the

[@westerncentristrants525]

Iceland is basically an EU member with this deal. Only they have no say in the matter and receive no benefits.

[@iainmclaughlin3698]

@@westerncentristrants525 wrong. Efta states operate under the 'EFTA notes' system to amend or even reject any & all eea relevant legislation. As for no benefits, wrong,access to the sm via the eea agreement, the most advanced trade deal currently in use globally, there's more obviously but do take the time to look further as your miś-understanding will modify

[@christopherg2347]

@@westerncentristrants525 No benefits? You call EEA access no benefit? You call a free trade deal with the place where >50% of their exports go no benefit? They choose to have exactly the benefits they have now.

[@TheSwedishHistorian]

I feel like if they got an exception to the common fisheries policy they might have joined. Honestly, I wish we (the EU) didn't have the CFP.

[@lol-xs9wz]

Yep, the EU makes quite a lot of concessions to please a few member states.

[@samuelsilver8077]

@@lol-xs9wz *cough* UK *cough*

[@PrograError]

@@samuelsilver8077 that was cos UK is founding member... if they try to rejoin, they ain't getting that back... it's all EUro then

[@MikkelKjrJensen]

@@PrograError The EEC (the EU's predecessor) was founded in 1957 (or if you want to go further back in time you can argue that it started with the European Coal and Steel Community back in 1952), the UK joined in 1973, they are not a founding member. But yes, if the UK was ever to reapply for membership they would have to do so as any other country.

[@rehurekj]

@@PrograError UK? Founding member? Hardly( unless we talk about Commonwealth and not EU) UK had to literally beg for ten years to be able to apply to join( well not literally but they applied three times and been declined twice and that they've been accepted was only thanks to change in French government, if Gaulle didnt step down as a president UK wouldnt even bother to try the third time)

[@CamCamCamCamCamCamCamCamCammmm]

Would be cool to get an episode on Switzerland!

[@NicloasSmith]

There is a mutual benefit but Iceland gets to retain control over their major economy industry, the US economy is one of the strongest in the world and I don't see it crashing anytime soon.

[@danielleonard5998]

The US dollar is affecting the crypto market.

[@allencampbell6580]

@@danielleonard5998 exactly.....only Bitcoin investors will understand.

[@georgeflorence2671]

@@allencampbell6580 are you a Bitcoin investor?

[@floydfrederick6415]

@@danielleonard5998 how is the US dollar affecting the market?

[@allencampbell6580]

@@georgeflorence2671 yes, why do you ask?

[@Mrdresden]

Most of Iceland's economic problems over the last three decades have been solved, in large part, by the ability of devaluing the currency. That fact is a stumbling block for any discussion on taking up the euro which, when coupled with the issue of fishing rights, just doesn't seem to add up to a very favourable idea compared to the current situation.

[@StYxXx]

Well the EU seems to be fine when there's the prospect of receiving money. How many countries (including the UK) just joined because of free cash - but avoided any commitment (rebates and stuff)? Just look at some eastern European government today: Anti-EU propaganda is heavily used to get elected but using EU money is fine. Obligations? Nah, just the money, please. Everything else will be vetoed.

[@AaronOkeanos]

Something must come to counter embezzlement and corruption and undermining of the rule of law.

[@bandvitromaniaios1307]

True. Without EU funds Romania would be fucked up. Especially the politicians.

[@peterthompson4484]

Will TLDR be getting anymore Series 2 pin badges?

[@tilmanmai]

Though I´m usually mostly pro EU, I honestly think that Icelands interests are not within the EU. The trade balance is great and there seems to be too much of a risk for Iceland - yes for their fishing industry. If one looks on how the EU seems not to be able to get a grip on the bigger fishing countries/ indtustries, I´d sail safely away of a full membership.

[@snickims9717]

Yea, Im very pro EU but iceland may not be a good fit, Its not for all nations or anything and if thay wish to stick with a trade/Mix deal that seems the best of both worlds

[@daan8066]

Can you make a video explaining the relationship between russia and the EU?

[@samuelsilver8077]

This might get people mad but I see EEA as disappearing agreement. Meaning that eventually EEA members will have to choose to either fully join or leave EU-organizations fully. No more of this half-in half-out system. Of course it will take time to happen but I see that EEA membership should only be for those who actually try to become EU members. But as things are currently I think EEA is fine for both parties as Iceland isnt big enough economic power to threaten EU-members interests by being only EEA,EFTA member

[@PrograError]

maybe it should be transitioned to kind of a EU+ member where you got that one foot in, but you ain't a fully member of EU and you can pick and choose in general. almost like what UK had in EU except none of the membership crap that the brexiteers look so frown upon...

[@samuelsilver8077]

@@PrograError If that were to happen then there would be no point of being full member. Reason why many countries stay in EU is because they know that they benefit more from being member. Now imagine what they would do if they knew that they could leave EU and only keep the parts they agree with(banking, free movement of goods etc.) while getting rid of all they dont like(freedom of movement, membership fees, common policies on fishing/agriculture etc.) - Hell, even I would be voting for leaving EU if that was possible in that case. And I am mainly pro-EU and pro-unification person.

[@PrograError]

@@samuelsilver8077 well in essence it's still EEA, just a bit more like what UK had in their membership. you still get the EU external border stuff, if not wrong...

[@andrasadam8256]

I also think the EEA should be something that countries can join to boost their economy, until they meet the requirements to become a full member. The chance to opt out of certain agreements is why Europe is developing so slowly. I think a requirement for the EEA should be to set a deadline for becoming full EU members.

[@samuelsilver8077]

@@PrograError If the "cherry picking" includes only things that are minor ones(ones that dont provide large amounts of jobs/money or soft power then member nations could allow it. But moment it includes stuff like fishing, agriculture, banking, state-aid, labour laws etc. it will lead to dissolution of whole EU. As even member nations make choice to become EU+/EEA members to get more benefits for their country

[@prunabluepepper]

Tbh, we Europeans think of Iceland as fully joined member anyway. The fact that they still have all their own rules doesn't really bother us. We're just happy that it's such a great country with pleasant people. 🥰

[@hanna_GG2]

I miss videos like this :(

[@felipejnnt]

Please make a video about the EU-MERCOSUR trade deal

[@sonicmeerkat]

contestion over fishing rights? seems like there'll finally be a cod war where the UK sits out.

[@randomicelander5307]

we are the masters of cod wars dont even need an army to win one.

[@TheHlynsi]

@@randomicelander5307 Við nú reyndar þurftum landhelgisgæsluna okkar 😬

[@AaronOkeanos]

Dear TLDR Team. Can you please make a video cleaning up the mess around the allegations about CFP destroying fishing in EU countries especially in the UK to close this chapter and answer the question "What destroyed UK fishing" once and for all. And maybe explain the CFP on it's problem a little more if there are any and the implications and goals of the CFP regarding protection of fishing and the environment.

[@mrtomyp92]

Do you have the Liechtenstein pin?

[@svavarkjarrval8757]

Thank you for covering Iceland's relation with the EU and for a good pronunciation of the Icelandic names. Wish to submit a correction to the video that Gunnar Bragi's letter to the EU was unclear on whether Iceland was formally withdrawing from the application process or not, but it did state his (personal) wishes in that regard. The EU wasn't sure either at first but since the negotiations didn't continue, Iceland was eventually dropped from the formal list of applicant countries. There were also issues that Iceland wasn't fully into it with some ministers referring to the negotiations as a way to „check what the EU is offering“. After the negotiations stopped, the state of Iceland instead opted to get on better track with implementing already-agreed EEA rules and improving its process within the EEA Joint Committee.

[@recurse]

As a Newfoundlander, I get this completely. If your country depends on fishing, the one thing you want above all other things is to keep the Europeans out. That is, if you want your fisheries to survive.

[@Luredreier]

Yeah... It's not that we don't *have* systems in place to take care of the fish here in Europe with quotas etc... It's just that there's loopholes etc that ends up leading to more damage being done then what is assumed by the quotas (and that the negotiations tends to grant just a little more quotas then the scientists recommend every time) As environmentally friendly as Europe is on land there's some *serious* issues with the EUs underwater policies...

[@Orbirik]

Well, it depends. Protecting a national industry that is obsolete and non-competitive is simply paternalistic. The most efficient, tech-smart pro-environment is what everyone needs. otherwise, you will replicate the African poverty system: as European and American governments protect so much with billions of dollars their own farmers, they can sell their crops extremely cheap, below their real cost. Thus, the market prefers to buy from them than the African farmers, despite their real (non artificial) price is really lower. The money doesn't go to Africa and they won't develop. Rich countries protect themselves from fair competition, but "donate in aid" so not feeling guilty.

[@bizu08]

@@Luredreier Loopholes :)))) the only loophole here is the fact that Iceland (as well as Norway) love killing whales. That is the fishing contention here that everyone keeps dancing around. The EU forbids whaling to its member states and that is why Iceland and Norway are not in.

[@Luredreier]

@@Orbirik You're talking farming here, the thread started about the topic of *fishing*. But regarding farming, yes, that's why I'm in favor of tariffs rather then subsidies for countries like Norway or Iceland where honestly production is never going to be able to meet demand anyway but where some way of permitting the farms to increase their profit is required in order to keep them alive when facing competition from other countries. And yes, for those who believe in the "free market" just letting them go bust might be tempting but there's side effects to that. For instance, a lack of food security, in the case of a global food crises for whatever reason the countries that normally have a food surplus are going to cover their own needs first anyway in most cases. And the competition will be fierce for what remains of the food as we don't have much food stored anywhere on this planet for issues like running out of phosphorus or reduced farming yields due to climate change etc. Tariffs allows certain industries to be protected while still allowing non-native products to compete as the tariffs can be balanced in order to allow a equilibrium of supply and demand to be meet. Ideally of course the countries selling products into our country should be able to pocket the higher prices themselves though... Norway tries to do that by allowing a certain amount of goods to enter without any tariffs each year and then applies tariffs on anything above said quota. Also, tariffs for developing nations in say Africa is lower then vs for instance the EU (and countries like the Netherlands who has an advanced enough agricultural sector to out compete anyone)

[@Luredreier]

@@bizu08 Trust me, whales are not *it*... For instance whaling is dying in Norway due to a lack of market for their products even *within* Norway... Whaling being allowed is mostly due to Norways whaling history and history of polar exploration etc... Honestly I'd be fine with us outlawing whaling here. Keeping it is more relevant in places like the Faero islands or Greenland where there's actually a firm cultural background for said whaling that I don't really feel that we have here in Norway or for that matter in Iceland... There the minority ethnic groups actually depended on whales for survival and a significant part of their food traditions and culture revolves around the whales. For Norway it's more about just the pride of having established whaling bases all over the artic and antartic region and having historically played such a huge role in that industry (and therefore in things like setting off parts of the industrial revolution that actually used to run on whale oil). There's also the same annoying ideas about the whole "whales is a resource and we have a *right* to make use of the resources within our waters" kind of silliness that most nations probably deal with... Oh, and the whole, Norway is kind of hunting crazy in general... A lot of parts of Norway is emptied out during the various local hunting seasons with villages looking like ghost towns because the villagers are out hunting moose or l or whatever... In the mind of a lot of Norwegians nature exists for *us* to use. It's the whole Lutheran christian idea that humans are stewards of earth but also have a god given right to use it kind of thing filtered through culture and some generations of secularism etc... So in that mindset we have a *duty* to "cull the herd" of animals to avoid overpopulation or disease, kill animals that's suffering, but also make use of the resources around us... As a vegetarian I obviously don't share these values... But that's the general gist of it as far as I can tell...

[@paulwood6729]

How about a history of the ECHR & the EUs relationship with it?

[@SamButler22]

Oh God, not more fishing!

I hope Iceland still joins someday. Can some locals create an Icelandic Volt chapter and lobby for that? 😁💜🇪🇺

[@tancredi7106]

Let’s seat, and wait ;)

[@yniekac8851]

They might be better off If they don’t join

[@Ludix147]

I hope the UK join. We would all benefit a lot

[@tancredi7106]

@@Ludix147 🧔🏼yes.

[@LemosNorway]

I hope Iceland join Norway someday.

[@Dabidto]

okay. anyone know how to do the text transition at 5:49? I wanna know how to that cool trick.

[@dominicthorpe2300]

looks like the kind of thing you would have to do manually don't think anything in after effects could do that automatically or anything, they have just moved letters and parts of words to fit the next sentence and faded out the old stuff and in the new stuff, probably is the fairly time consuming process of looking for all the letters to move and then manually moving them from their old positions to the new ones

[@Dabidto]

@@dominicthorpe2300 Thankds dude

[@caseykuilman9307]

Iceland could always hold a referendum with the question "Would you support the continuation of negotiations on Icelandic EU membership IF there would need to be a second referendum to approve whatever deal is negotiated?"

[@tobiasL1991]

I this style, my brother is always hammering on about politics being about what you choose but not in what specific way. People choose brexit but not what kind, is a good example of this.

[@ludvikkaaber3222]

I wonder how many States, however "democratic", have conducted referendums about whether to negotiate for possible membership of the EU. If Iceland has a referendum on that question, am I a still more democrat if I advocate a referendum on whether to have a referendum on that question? Things have really gotten a little too far.

[@TILR]

How about a video about the status of the EU in things like the UN, WTO, the Global Coalition, etc.

[@ravfromsweden]

What are the numbers in the corner counting?

[@Bjarni.H]

Does tldr sell Iceland pins?

[@thisin.]

"icelandinc corona" 3:05

[@AndreSomers]

So, is the point of contention only with the UK? As I think that that is losing relevance in relation with wanting to join the EU since, well, the UK is not a member any more. Or do they still have a similar issue with The Netherlands as well?

[@ZephirothFRA]

I am currently living in Iceland and over the last 2 years the Icelandic Krona lost about 30 % of it's value against all major currencies... I wished that Iceland would peg it's currency with the Euro to avoid such fluctuations and implement some regulation of it's banking system. I'm guessing the banks and the few very wealthy people here who are betting against their own country fear that more than the regulations around fishing.

[@AaronOkeanos]

Same happened and still happening in the UK. In the night of the referendum they drained billions out of the enconomy overnight. And they will most likely try again soon.

[@ciangargan]

0:46 Is there a discount for the Irish pin badge? There seems to be a bit missing 👀

[@williamcahill8580]

Would have bought it myself only for that missing little bit

[@ciangargan]

@@williamcahill8580 Same. I'd like to support the channel.

[@lukeeclair7736]

@@ciangargan I think a requirement of supporting the channel is living in the real world - and in the real world, that bit of the island does not belong to the Republic.

[@Apodeipnon]

The common agricultural and fishing policies are pretty flawed so I see why they would be hesitant.

[@LonelyCinderella123]

The reason we recovered faster and better than lets say Greece is that we had our own currency to devalue. Tourism became one of the biggest industries here only after the financial crisis and the fall of the Icelandic króna. This plays a big part in people losing interest in joining the EU and really should be mentioned in the video. We were desperate in 2009 but in few years we recovered without the EU so.

[@melonlord1414]

But devaluing the curency basically means to cut your citizens wages, pentions, saving accounts... It really is a double edged sword

[@OperationBaboon]

the problem is the eu fishing agreement is stupid. it's one of the things where the eu just didn't do a good enough job. it opens the waters to predatory capitalist corporations, when it should protect the small fishers and local productions. we should cherish the diversity of eu products, and we can only do that if we allow some regional control.

[@ratatatuff]

It's intentionally stupid. Small fishers and local productions don't have any lobbying power. Corporations have.

[@OperationBaboon]

@@ratatatuff absolutely

[@mustacheman2549]

can you make a vid on the eu's trade deal with vietnam

[@kerajit]

I think that there is some challenging times ahead, (covid, uk leaving the eu) and EU should focus on strongly convinced members, I think that Iceland having 51% support would be troublesome. Btw. would traveling from France or Germany to fish in Iceland waters be more economically viable then fishing on Iceland? I'd think that it takes both time and fuel, to go into Icelandic waters

[@andriandrason1318]

Some Danish ships, regularly go to Greenland and Svalbard to fish. Colder water = higher quality fish + less ships, more for the taking. trawling vs cruising to a destination, takes a lot more fuel. If Iceland did join the Eu, Eu fishing vessels would gain access to Icelandic ports, and land there fish there. no need to sail home every time, just send the crew.

[@michaelgreen1515]

Jack I know you're young but look up the Cod wars which weren't actually wars but were very violent and overlapped EEA membership.

[@w0t3rdog]

"Anyone who buys 3 pins will get a random pin for free" *Random USA: being randomly random

[@TheWolfHowling]

OH MY GOD, what is it with these countries and their fishing rights?

[@TheWolfHowling]

@eres Doesn't Iceland have a large industry of Aluminum Smelting and a growing data center operations due to their abundant resources for low cost hydroelectric & geothermal energy? While fish account for 40% of Iceland export revenue, the rest is not nothing

[@igzom819]

@trevo1987 it is even less than that

[@obscureinception8302]

In Iceland's case, while only about 5% of the workforce may be directly employed in the fishing industry, others are indirectly employed - and the fishing industry produces about 10+% of the countries GDP plus accounts for about 50% of the goods that it exports. Icelandic waters are an extremely rich fishing area, and are likely to become increasing more important as sea temperatures increase as a result of climate change. For the UK, fishing is nothing more than a fairly minor industry, employing just 0.1% of the workforce and representing 0.1% of the economy (and with over half of this being based in Scotland). Fishing genuinely is an important consideration for Iceland, but is of negligible importance for most of the UK.

[@DarkHarlequin]

My guess would be it's a cultural thing. These island countries for the longest time had their survival and identity directly linked to fishing. It might be that fishing is directly assosciated with 'being self sufficient' and inversly sharing your fishing space with giving away control of your own survival to a larger organisation/ other countries. The reality is that most modern countries already do that in many areas but I can see how in terms of food/fishing it feels particularly real / like a loss of control! Just my guess though don't take this to court ;-)

[@TheWolfHowling]

@eres Iceland isn't mining Bauxite or other Aluminum bearing ore, extracted Alumina is imported and processed using vasts quantities of electricity, striping out the oxygen to create Aluminum metal. The aluminum smelter that we have/had here in NZ used 13% of our electricity and basically had its own generation station, Manapouri. Ore was mined and refined into Alumina in Queensland, Australia and then shipped to Bluff at the bottom of the South Island to be reduced into purified metal and sold. I imagine Iceland is doing the same thing

[@blafoon93]

It's fishing again but this time they have a legit worry. To give up full control over the resources whose exploitation makes up 25% of the GDP seems like a terrible idea any way you look at it. With Iceland already part of Schengen and programs like Erasmus and the Free Trade Agreement they already receive basically all benefits they need. All they would gain by joining the EU is voting rights and a new currency. The voting rights are nice but somewhat negligible as Iceland has a tiny population, so their share of votes even with a voting system favouring small nations is still insignificant. As for the currency, I have no idea what the situation looks like for the Icelandic Krona but in the two decades that the Euro has been the EU currency we had our fair share of problems too. All in all the trade offs for a full membership do not look great. I hope we can one day welcome Iceland as a new member state. I wish Iceland all the best and I hope they are successful in their efforts to become an even more prosperous nation.

[@christophersilverberg3641]

I think TLDR is fishing for comments...

[@poutisinc.4211]

Can someone explain why fishing is such a major hurdle? I understand that it is a large part of the economie, but is sharing your waters really such a bad deal if it gives you acces to an entire continents worth of ocean?

[@xano198103]

There are a lot of variables regarding this issue. One is the size of each country's fishing fleet, quotas based on both fleet and resources availability and sustainment, its weight in the local economy, and also tradition. As far as I remember, both french and spaniards have the biggest fleets in the EU, and without any rules regarding fishing they would pretty much overrun the rest,, not saying this in a bad way, but historically they were always big players in the industry. So it´s a balance, many would say unfair, but it´s what you can achieve in a CAP negotiation. You pretty much trade-off on some matters and gain on others. Regarding the continent accessibility, alot of the fishing stocks are declining, everyone is cramped fishing in the same spots, not everyone fishes the same species and with a common market you can diversify your offer and pressure both the fishing stocks and the employment in each country.

[@MichaelWarman]

While fishing is important for Iceland, and they might baulk at letting other countries in their water, surely if they did sign up to the common fisheries policy they'd get access to an awful lot more water in exchange?

[@ThatIcelandicDude]

Iceland has some of the world's richest fishing grounds. It is already Europe's second largest producer of fish rivaled only by Norway (Annother fellow none eu nation) it literally has nothing to gain from joining the EU.

[@RodimusPrime1313]

Sounds very similar to the brexit talks about fishing. The uk was desperate to join the original ecc so they agreed to join the common fishing policies only to end up getting screwed over by the eu.

[@kristinnpalsson2643]

Not even close...

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Damn fish.

[@aneonyme8943]

Andorra Relationship with EU would be interesting

[@dinafem643]

why should I have passports when the countries are part of the Schengen agreement

[@fionnoha]

Any chance you could have a badge for the island of Ireland? You could even have the Northern Irish flag in the occupied counties but the Republic of Ireland badge with a chunk missing is just a bit strange.

[@ulrichbrodowsky5016]

Fishing AGAIN?

[@joshlee7562]

Why is a country held responsible for paying back money on behalf of a private corporation? Were they viewed as responsible because they froze the account?

[@joshlee7562]

​@Account nameUgh, reading blocks of text to inform myself is not unpleasant. I don't know how to phrase the question I had better than I did, but to help you understand an acceptable answer (from what little I read) could have been something like. Governments guarantee repayment on behalf of banks if banks cannot afford to honor the customers savings. It seems like Iceland said they would repay people, then didn't, but then were found innocent anyway. I may have misunderstood something along the way because that seems absurd. I hate how much my reading comprehension has docked since Junior High... (I got a job instead of going to high school because of poverty, but got my GED instead)

[@ilFrancotti]

Didn't Portugal also apply to the IMF for economic help?

[@FRodrigues42]

Yeah it was 25 years before.

[@christopherg2347]

2:02 A small clarification request: "Icelanding Trade with the UK". If I understand it correctly, the UK and Iceland trade is using the EU/Iceland Trade Agreement? But the UK is on it's way out of the EU, so they should no longer have a free trade deal with Iceland? Or have they made a seperate one? 7:00 Yeah, that is not the way to treat potential members. # As for Iceland joining: We are their biggest trading partner by far. As on many other topics, the UK is no longer in the way. But they are also far away. And somebody mentioned they benefit from seperate Tradedeals with Russia and US.

[@ems4884]

It's really a shame that the EU has not been able to draw Switzerland, Norway and Iceland into the fold. It was a mistake in those early years to offer them access to the EFTA without carrying then over into the EU. Their economies and share of the burden of securing and developing the forever Warsaw Pact nations and the Balkans would have been a tremendous help. Their voices in Brussels might also have helped to prevent the Eurocrisis.

[@NeurodivergentGuy2023]

Switzerland would never sign up because of its tax and trade policy , Iceland and Norway wouldn’t because of the CFP.

[@joaovitormatos8147]

Let me guess: fishing?

[@You_do_not_exist_Jack]

“fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing fishing” Edit: I feel like Iceland‘s got a decent deal now with the EU and that there is no need for them to expand upon it at this moment.

[@SatchelChannel]

why don't they just ditch fishing and invest in itticolture? You know, fish farms with way more efficency and much less enviromental problems since you're not fishing from the sea reducing biodiversity. Is it so costly to build dozens of fish farms?

[@MirkoC407]

I can't help but whenever it goes down to a country being member of the EU or not it finally goes down on fish

[@nicelander]

Really need Iceland pin badges. I'll buy 10

[@RBuckminsterFuller]

Just goes to show how insecure it is for Europeans to do business with non-EU companies.

[@Mustafa-al-mahmud]

no offense but the price is a bit high🙄

[@jajeronymo]

The question should perhaps be "Would European long term interests be best served with Iceland (and another island further south) in the EU?" Anyway, more fishing activity might benefit Iceland as boats far from home would need local harbouring, maintenance and other services.

[@TheHollandHS]

No wonder they lost that match. The English were SIMPING about Iceland.

[@snorrigoi2479]

Outside, I'm Icelandic

[@iainmclaughlin3698]

And still you guys continue to get it wrong on efta states contributing to eu budget. They don't pay directly in at all, the 'EFTA grants' system are targeted funding to specific eu states, not into the eu budget.

[@AaronOkeanos]

Congrats you perfectly copied Nigel Farage. I knew if he repeats it often enough some will fall for it.

[@iainmclaughlin3698]

@@AaronOkeanos farage was effectively clueless & a proven shill. EFTA notes have worked well for them for years & will continue to do so.

[@iainmclaughlin3698]

EFTA grants * eu based foreign investment strategy to develop trade opportunities for their renewable energy sector, amongst others

[@JawsofFreedom]

This fishing thing is really starting to piss me off. Why have a common fisheries policy at all? Why would a country completely surrounded by coast have to relinquish that huge advantage to other countries that have other resources at their disposal? It’s so bizarre to me.

[@AaronOkeanos]

Let me guess David. You are a member of one of the 5 UK fishing families own the majority of UK's or should I say English fishing rights and making small fishermen pay to the nose to live on leasing them for a season. Scotland was more clever, they only sold 6% of their rights.

[@njalsen]

My feel is that the current situation is the most ideal for Iceland. It should not pursue further integration, and if it comes down to it it Should rather step back. I say this while I hope EU becomes a true super state like the US

[@NotYowBusiness]

Did you seriously say "will it lead to GRETA things in the future"?

[@Swat_Dennis]

I like their coins and banknotes, so I am kind of glad it didn’t happen

[@Ugapiku]

It always comes down to the fish 😅

[@RafaelW8]

Funnily ,that's what me and my gf argue about, often.

[@nathanm4444]

When he asked the question: who would be eligible to pay for the costs after the collapse of the bank? He didn't make a difference between what the IMF thought was Icelandic tax payers that had to solve the private bank's problem and what Iceland thought was the fault of shareholders who should dissolve the debt. There was actually quite a lot of fuss about that in the international community: could Icelandic citizen be held responsible for a private bank's operations? And then, because the US backed Iceland and the IMF had to polish its reputation, eventually there was an agreement (almost as a publicity stunt. He also left out some other important details. Still thanks for all the effort @TLDR

[@geraldmerkowitz4360]

Moral of the story, if you want politics to go well stop eating fish and stick to steak.

[@rake483]

Yes, Iceland should join the EU. We need their strongmen for the EU army. They are bulletproof and can smash a tank with bare hands.

[@marcogubert]

The most powerful army in the world! Who can compete with the vikings' real grandsons?

[@spam.0319]

EU army seriously? Thank goodness for brexit

[@haashirkabeer2671]

@@spam.0319 its sarcasm

[@spam.0319]

haashir kabeer yeah but they actually did have plans for an eu army. I bet there will be one within the next 15 years

[@RafaelW8]

@@spam.0319 and there should be! Can't rely on USA anymore.

[@Kevin-nr7rw]

Best choice ever for Iceland

[@BrutallHawk]

i think the fact that Fishing makes up 25% of Icelands GDP it's not a smart idea for them to join the EU. Unless they could get a pass for keeping the only rights to fish in their waters. But then it would not be fair for other EU members so it's a tough one :P

[@pisse3000]

Wait, it’s all about fish?

[@GegoXaren]

Considoring that Iceland has fished out their own waters, there is not much point in fishing there.

[@melonlord1414]

They follow EU law and pay money to the EU but they don't have any say about what the laws are and what happens with the money. I'd say it's a bad deal. That said, I don't know if the EU needs more member states right now. The system isn't dealing great with having many countries. Maybe the EU should fix that first, before it continues to grow.

[@northstar2839]

Iceland did finally overcome the terrible 2008 financial crisis thanks to still having an autonomous currency, the Icelandic Króna. If it had been a EU member State it would have suffered the same fate that Greece suffered: the Greek weren't masters of their currency anymore because they had the Euro (€) and so they were absolutely helpless in front of the plundering by Germany and the other big EU countries. You can go and look at the utter misery that the Greek people are in now, and for long decades to come! Staying safe is staying independent, and OUTSIDE of the EU!

[@dustgreylynx]

The whole issue seems fishy

[@libGODFATHER]

Please make a topic about immigrants

[@esajpsasipes2822]

As a supporter of cooperation and integration, but not like "we must do it asap", but more like "it should slowly make its way, but not too slowly": Iceland SHOULD fully join the EU, but in the future, maybe after the fishery and agricultural policies are made "better" (if it ever happens, but that is only in hands of EU voters), and after people there begin to want it (whitch would propably be a consequence of that). And also, propably after some clean up in the EU (the two policies would be part of that).

[@ilkeracar6567]

I know Denmark owns Greenland, but are Greenland's fisheries in eu common bs too ?

[@unfairlive2]

It's a complicated relationship. The short answer is no. The long answer is going to end up also at mostly no. Iceland is a part of Denmark who is a full member, but Iceland has their own parliament, see them as an extremely devolved version of say, Scotland in the UK. To the point where they are allowed to make most international decisions on their own. Like monarchies there's legally still a lot of things that Denmark can decide for Iceland, but in recent history they have not done so. Preferring a good relationship. Thus ending up in a relatively solid bond. As a result, they are not part of the fisheries and agriculture, but they are part of the economic area, and Schengen (In short, goods and people can travel freely too Iceland) with as result that they do follow every EU rule. Question remains if it'd benefit Iceland sufficiently too join the EU, it might require first too invest and grow more profitable industries beyond resource collection. Or significant exceptions for a country who fairly does really depend on that kind of work.

[@justforfun4151]

🇮🇸 is a cool country and doesnt have problems with any country ,crises,corruption is low,can join eu very fast,but politics decided is better like this.

[@ExploreLearnEnglishWithGeorge]

I personally find the energy potential and hydrogen generation particularly exciting (fishing can go suck a cod - I'm a vegan,couldn't care less about national fishing interests..plus the dead fish meat smells as hell from the aquatic bacterial deacay and it's full of micoplastics and heavy metals these days...no idea why people insist on eating that stuff - it seems as a mental behavioural pattern to me)

[@luishernandezblonde]

It's time Iceland join the common house of Europe together, together stronger 🇮🇸🇪🇺