EU reassures Balkan hopefuls that Iceland must go by the book

Commission says nothing has changed in steps necessary for accession

European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn (left), European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana (center) and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt arrive to address a joint news conference during a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday.

BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union yesterday sought to reassure Balkan candidates that Iceland will undergo the same membership tests they are facing, even though the North Atlantic island could rapidly join the bloc.

At talks in Brussels, EU foreign ministers underscored that countries in the Balkans would not be forgotten even as some candidacies stall, pledging to give new impetus to the integration of the volatile region.

“Iceland’s application will be treated by the book. There will be no shortcuts,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters at the end of the meeting.

Badly shaken by the global financial crisis, Iceland applied this month to join the current 27-nation EU – an ambition made easier by the fact that, as a member of the European Economic Area, it already conforms with many EU laws.

The ministers formally gave Rehn’s commission a mandate to draw up an assessment of Iceland’s candidature, and make a recommendation as to whether it should be allowed in, a process unlikely to be completed this year.

“The commission will prepare a rigorous and objective opinion with the same methodology as for any other applicant,” Rehn said, with Balkan hopefuls like Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Montenegro and Serbia waiting in the wings.

He said that Iceland’s membership in the European Economic Area meant that it had acquired “at least two-thirds of the EU’s legal order,” but he said the issues left to resolve, like monetary criteria and fishing policy were tough.

“The distance still to be covered will be shorter although not necessarily easier,” he said.

In the Balkans, Montenegro applied to join the European Union in December 2008, but it was not until April this year that EU nations accepted to forward its application to the Commission for processing.

In the case of Albania, its application submitted in April has yet to be forwarded to the Commission, which as the bloc’s executive branch supervises enlargement and directly conducts accession negotiations.

The delay is officially due to uncertainty over the outcome of elections that took place in the former communist state last month.

“Some member states were sort of concerned that we were leaving Albania and other countries of the Western Balkans out,” said Swedish European Affairs Minister Cecilia Malmstroem, whose country currently holds the EU presidency. “The Albanian issue will be dealt with as soon as possible. The election issue is not really finished,” she added.

FYROM, meanwhile, is an official candidate, but it has been given no date for formally starting talks, and Greece is blocking progress due to a dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the EU hopes in coming months “to give a new impetus to the European integration process in the Western Balkans. There are some hurdles to be overcome but we clearly see the need.” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said many nations agreed that it was important not to let Iceland jump the queue. “Everyone noted that there was already a list of candidates and that the list had to be respected and not give to Iceland, which we accept willingly, an advantage due to bankruptcy and the fact that they are under economic pressure,” he told reporters.

But his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb warned the Balkan states against trying to make any connections between their case and that of Iceland.