EU enlargement in North Atlantic
Iceland’s prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir is not only the country’s first female government leader and the world’s first openly gay top politician. She is also the person, who is likely to bring the northern European country into the EU.
In a landslide victory, Ms. Sigurdardottir’s Social Democratic Party together with the Leftist Green Party secured parliament majority in last week’s elections. On top of the new state leader’s agenda is membership in the EU and the introduction of the Euro as the country’s currency. That will eventually leave Norway the only Nordic country outside the EU. With Icelandic EU membership, the union will significantly strengthen its position in the High North. Former EU enlargement commissioner Gunter Verheugen in an interview with Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet last week said both Iceland and Norway could obtain union membership in as little as six months should they want it.
