Looking north and south-east

Iceland’s application for EU membership and and Iran’s nuclear capabilities were also discussed by EU leaders.

ICELAND

EU leaders decided to make Iceland an official candidate for membership of the EU, joining Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia. The decision, which coincided with Iceland’s national day, was based on an opinion issued by the European Commission in February. Both sides will now prepare their negotiating positions, with talks expected to start in the first half of next year. Össur Skarphéðinsson, Iceland’s foreign minister, said: “I see the EU’s unanimous support for opening negotiations as a vote of confidence in Iceland as a solid European partner.”

The summit declaration contained a warning to Iceland to meet “existing obligations” under the European Economic Area, a reference to compensation claims by the Netherlands and the United Kingdom over a failed Icelandic bank, Icesave. The Dutch in particular accuse Iceland of stalling on a settlement, a charge that is vigorously contested by Icelandic diplomats. Both the Dutch and the UK governments have said that they will not block Iceland’s negotiations over the Icesave issue, but that a solution has to be found before the island can enter the EU.

IRAN

EU leaders decided that their foreign ministers should, by mid-July, draft a set of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme that go beyond those adopted by the United Nations Security Council earlier this month. “New restrictive measures have become inevitable,” they said in a statement, which singled out trade and trade insurance, the financial sector, the transport sector, and the country’s energy sector as the targets of new sanctions. EU leaders also decided that new visa bans and asset freezes should be imposed on members of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has wide-ranging economic and financial interests.

MDGs

The EU leaders reaffirmed that the EU “remains determined to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals globally by 2015”. “This is possible if all partners demonstrate firm political commitment, implement necessary policy changes and take concrete action.” The EU leaders reaffirmed their “commitment” to meet a target of 0.7% of gross national income for development aid by 2015.