Getting warmer
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Iceland moved a step closer to the EU as official membership began today. While the process is expected to go relatively smoothly, it will not be all plain sailing as disputes over whaling and fishing loom on the horizon.
Reykjavik had originally hoped it would be given special fast-track membership, but EU officials today took pains to stress that there would be no special treatment or "short cuts".
The issue of whaling will be a particular sticking point. Analysts predict the EU will want Iceland to stop hunting whales altogether, yet many Icelanders view this as an intrinsic part of their cultural heritage.
France's European Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche also raised the question of whether there was real public support for the move. "I don't get the impression... that the Icelandic people are overly in favour, that's the problem," Lellouche said.
Iceland's 300,000-strong population will still have to agree to accession via a referendum and the initial wave of enthusiasm seen when the country first asked to join the bloc in the wake of its 2008 banking crisis has subsided. Rows with the UK and the Netherlands over compensation for their savers' lost Icelandic banking deposits turned things particularly sour.
A June opinion poll found that 60 percent of Icelanders wanted to withdraw the EU application and the government may now face an uphill struggle to get the people to warm to the idea again as talks progress.
