HELSINKI, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The Icelandic government plans to hold a referendum on whether the country should resume talks on membership in the European Union (EU), the government said on Friday.
Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir announced the plan at a press conference in the capital, Reykjavik, saying the vote is scheduled for Aug. 29.
Gunnarsdottir said there is consensus within the government on holding the referendum. She added, however, that she would never sign an agreement requiring Iceland to relinquish control over its natural resources.
According to national broadcaster RUV, debate over EU membership has intensified in Iceland following U.S. remarks about possible U.S. control over nearby Greenland. Rising living costs and the conflict in Ukraine have also fueled discussion about joining the bloc.
A recent opinion poll cited by RUV showed that 57 percent of respondents supported resuming the talks, while more than 30 percent were opposed and 12 percent were undecided. Residents of the capital area were more supportive of reopening or continuing negotiations than those in rural areas. The poll was conducted from Feb 19 to March 4.
Iceland formally applied for EU membership in July 2009, and accession negotiations began a year later. It halted the talks in 2013. Two years later, the government declared that the negotiations had formally ended, RUV reported.
Eva H. Onnudottir, a political science professor at the University of Iceland, said in an RUV broadcast that it was important to bring the issue to a conclusion. She said that although most political parties have clear positions on the matter, supporters and opponents of EU membership exist within all parties, making the debate more difficult.
Although Iceland is not a member of the EU, it is part of the Schengen area and also belongs to the European Economic Area (EEA). ■
