More news from up north

I don't mean Yorkshire. I leave that county to the Boss. Further north, where the Vikings dwell to this day.

It seems that the Icelanders are determined to prove their political masters wrong. For some reason they seem very reluctant to accept their destiny in the European Union. Could it be because they can see what happens to those who have accepted it? Surely not.

EU News from Iceland tells us that opinion about EU membership is becoming more and more negative. A new poll was produced by Capacent Gallup for the Federation of Icelandic Industries, whose leadership, naturally enough, favours membership. What is it with leaderships of trade organizations? OK, maybe I do know the answer.

However, the results are not such as to gladden the heart of the average industrial leader.

According to the poll 43.2 percent of Icelanders are unhappy with the EU application the Icelandic government delivered in July after it was being accepted narrowly by the Althing, the Icelandic parliament. 39.6 percent are happy with the application.

More than half of Icelanders, or 50.2 percent, are opposed to joining the EU while 32.7 percent favour the step. In another poll by Capacent Gallup published in August where the same question was asked 48.5 percent were against EU membership and 34.7 percent were in favour.

Finally 61.5 percent said they would vote against EU membership if a referendum was held now, 38.5 percent said they would vote in favour. Of those 38.6 percent said they would definitely vote against but only 16.1% said they would definitely vote in favour.

It looks a little as if we shall not have the Icelanders joining us in our insane attempt to destroy all the fish in the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the political spectrum and a little closer to home, geographically speaking, the Swedish Secretary of State for European Affairs, Maria Asenius, told EurActiv something many of us have known all along: the Lisbon Treaty is important but not that important to the EU. (Here is the link but for some reason the article appeared only on the German version of EurActiv.)

It is, however, easy enough to work out what she is saying: the EU can function quite well without that treaty (there seems to be some worry about it being ratified in the few countries left and that does not include Britain) and can, should it wish to do so, continue with its amoeba-like endless enlargement.

Open Europe's blog has a little more on the subject. One wonders how they can square these blatant pronouncements with their own notion that all will be well if the EU simply followed their ideas on reform.

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