2/28/2005

'Nothing new happened', say spokespersons of other Icelandic political parties

There was no turning point in the Icelandic Progressive Party's attitude towards the EU during the party's general meeting this weekend. This is the common opinion of spokespersons of the four other political parties represented in the Icelandic parliament, the Althing, according to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.

The chairman of the parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs and MP for the Independence Party, Sólveig Pétursdóttir, said the resolution of the meeting will not change anything for the coalition government of the two parties. The pact of the government is that EU membership is not on the agenda.

The opposition parties said it seemed as this whole thing was just a show to draw the attention from other tough issues within the Progressive Party. They said it was obvious that no decision was made on the EU issue. Össur Skarphéðinsson, chairman of the Social Democratic Alliance which is the only party in Iceland which is in favour of EU membership, added that this whole thing was a "successful spin about a possible policy sometime later in the future."

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