He made his comments as a keynote speaker at the Social Democratic Party’s European Movement conference, alongside Styrmir Gunnarsson, former editor of Morgunblaðið.

Styrmir said that for his part he does not feel there is a battle in progress for Iceland’s natural resources. He says that fears around land control by foreigners probably stems from the Cold War when Icelanders were nervous of foreign military bases being built in their country.

“I was no bloody teenager when I spent four years of my life negotiating the European Economic Area contract,” Jón Baldvin retorted. He said that arguments against Icelandic EEA membership were much the same in his time as arguments against EU membership are now: “That the fishing grounds would fill with the Spanish fleet, Portuguese workers would flood the Icelandic market and that German millionaires would buy everything in the country,” Jón Baldvin said.

Styrmir said that nobody has done more to transfer natural resources to the rich than the left-wing government which allowed the individual transferable quota system. He said that at the time nobody said anything about the important fact that resources were being placed in the hands of the few. The changes created a slew of fisheries millionaires in Iceland.

The EU information centre, called Evrópustofan, was opened in Reykjavík for the first time yesterday.

According to RÚV the centre will be open to the public six days a week and its goal is to increase knowledge and understanding of the European Union among Icelanders and to encourage an active debate in society on the advantages and disadvantages of Icelandic membership of the EU.

Visitors to the centre are also able to find information on EU projects and funds and there are many books and leaflets available for those with a more casual interest.

The centre is located at Suðurgata 10, 101 Reykjavík.

There is also a website (in Icelandic): www.evropustofa.is.

Steingrímur J. Sigfúson, the leader of the Left Green Movement and Minister of Economic Affairs and Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, told the farmers’ newspaper that he will fight Icelandic entry to the EU, although he feels it would not be advisable to withdraw the application before a final membership contract is completed and ready to vote on.

Asked if the Left Greens have broken their election promise that a Left Green government would not apply for EU membership, Steingrímur said that the party has had to go further into the process than he initially thought before the election and that the fight has been harder than expected. But, he says, at every party meeting in which the EU has been discussed, the Left Green Movement has decided not to walk out of government over the issue.

Although there are pro- and anti- Europe voices in all parties, they are broadly split into two pro-EU and three anti-EU parties. The second (and largest) governing party, the Social Democrats, strongly support EU membership, as does The Movement, the smallest opposition party. Split purely along party lines that means there are 23 pro-EU seats in parliament and 37 against. But the inclusion of three independents, those who do not support the EU but wish to conclude negotiations and pro-Europe voices within sceptical parties, the story is not as simple as it might be.

Steingrímur told the farmers’ newspaper that it would not be beneficial for Iceland to turn its back on the ongoing negotiations and that it is important to get a solid conclusion to the process. The toughest chapters of the accession talks (such as farming and fisheries) have yet to begin.

On a personal note Steingrímur said that his belief that Iceland’s national interests lie outside the EU is only getting stronger and that the benefits of having an independent currency have shown themselves recently.

Icelandic farmers are by-and-large not supporters of either the European Union or the Left Green Movement; meaning that Steingrímur probably chose his words carefully when talking to their newspaper.

Officials for the nation said last week that they would do everything in their power to cut costs at a time when Europe is facing unprecedented amounts of debt. One money-saving measure mentioned was serving tap water rather than expensive bottled water at functions.

The country plans to spend just EUR 35 million during its term, compared with Hungary and Poland, which both spent substantially more in 2011 at EUR 85 million and EUR 110 million, respectively. France spent the highest ever amount during its six-month term, with a massive final bill of EUR 171 million.

Nicolai Wammen, the Danish European affairs minister, told AFP reporters on, “It’s the last time you’ll see these bottles of water. Next they will be replaced by the good pure Danish tap water.” He added, “We’re very cost efficient in Denmark. We want to have an efficient presidency at low cost.”

Wammen also said Denmark would be cutting the amount spent on gifts for ministers and dignitaries. When asked by reporters of the most expensive gift given so far, he replied that it was a relatively thrifty EUR 60 alarm clock.

Denmark, which was handed its turn for the rotating EU presidency on 1st January, also says it will reduce the number of meetings held in order to keep costs low. Hosting meetings for EU ministers is one of the roles associated with the European presidency.

Bulgarians and Romanians no longer need to get special residence and work permits to stay in Iceland. On 1st January the special law on Romanians and Bulgarians ran out and their citizens now enjoy the same rights in Iceland as other Europeans do.

Iceland is a member of the EEA, EFTA and Schengen; meaning its citizens are free to travel, live and work in most European countries with very similar rights to natives. Other Europeans enjoy the same rights in Iceland. However, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU on 1st January 2007, the Icelandic authorities decided to take advantage of the maximum time legally possible to update the two countries’ status (five years). It was widely reported at the time that the government was trying to protect its citizens from organised crime in the two countries. Unsurprisingly a fierce debate about discrimination and protectionism ensued, and continues even now.

Either way, in the case of Bulgarians and Romanians in Iceland, the case is over. Those who have already got residence and work permits do not need to renew them when they expire; and those coming to Iceland for the first time will not need them at all and will simply need to register their stay with the National Registry.

On Sunday, the rotating duty went from Poland to the Scandinavian country of 5.6 million people, whose political scene is currently controlled by one of the few left-leaning governments in Europe. Experts say the responsibility comes with heavy baggage, including the ongoing and all-important euro debt crisis.

Euro powerhouses Germany and France are still being seen as leaders in debt crisis management, with the importance of the rotating EU presidency having dwindled with the creation of the European Council presidency via the Lisbon Treaty.

Ritzau news agency said in an article released on Sunday, “Politically, Denmark will have little impact on the aspect of European co-operation that, for now, is mainly attracting attention.” It went on to say, “Formally, Denmark cannot and should not resolve the euro crisis.”

However, Ritzau has praised efforts by Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark’s Prime Minister, and Nicolai Wammen, the Danish European affairs minister, to help mediate issues dividing the 17 countries of the eurozone with the full 27-nation bloc.

Helle Thorning-Schmidt said in a statement on Sunday, “We will get involved so European countries, together, can control the economy and return to [healthy economic] growth. That is what is needed to recreate jobs in Europe,” AFP reports.

A report from the EU this week reveals figures for funding provided to countries applying for membership of the bloc. Iceland’s portion of that funding amounted to EUR 12 million, or ISK 2 billion, this year.

Turkey took proportionately the highest amount of the billion euro EU funding – with grants amounting to EUR 233 million. Next was Serbia, with EUR 178 million and Bosnia and Herzegovina received EUR 90 million. Unsurprisingly, Iceland’s portion of the funding is the largest per capita of the population.

The funding to Iceland was roughly 37.50 euros per person in 2011; compared to 25 euros per person in Serbia, 23.50 per capita in Bosnia and Herzegovina and just EUR 3.16 for each person in Turkey. Turkey has a population of nearly 74 million, while around 320,000 live in Iceland.

The grants are intended to finance projects in accession countries which help to ease their progression into the EU, Vísir.is reported.

Össur Skarphéðinsson

The Icelandic foreign minister will take control of the country’s Icesave defence preparations at the EFTA court; despite loud calls from the opposition to keep the case in the hands of the business and commerce minister.

Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, has been given political oversight of Iceland’s defence case being prepared after the EFTA decided to take the country to court over its handling of the failed Icesave accounts in the Netherlands and the UK. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting today.

The decision has been widely discussed in recent days, including in Alþingi, among opposition parties and in the Alþingi foreign affairs committee — which itself voted to keep the case in the hands of Minister of Economic Affairs, Árni Páll Árnason; who was in charge of all things Icesave before the EFTA decided to take the matter to court last week.

The foreign affairs committee vote was won by the two Independence Party MPs, two Progressive Party MPs and one from the ruling Left Green Movement. Meanwhile the four remaining government committee members from the Social Democrats and the Left Greens voted to transfer the matter to the foreign minister. The Movememt’s Birgitta Jónsdóttir agreed with the government stance, but she only holds observer status. It was therefore 5-4.

The committee meeting last night was also attended by permanent secretaries from the Prime Ministry and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs; as well as an expert adviser in matters related to the EFTA court. They all agreed that the case belongs with Össur Skarphéðinsson.

The committee’s main concern when voting for Árni was that the EFTA court case should not be put in the same hands as the Icelandic European Union accession negotiations. Also the committee stated that all parties and members of Alþingi need to unite behind the minister in this case and the majority of its members felt that unifying minister should be Árni Páll Árnason.

The government was duty bound to consider the committee’s suggestion carefully, but eventually this morning decided to go with the non-political experts’ recommendation.

So serious was the crisis in Iceland when the banking sector collapsed that the implementation of the ongoing króna currency restrictions was justified. This is the verdict of the EFTA court in the case brought by Pálmi Sigmarsson against the Central Bank of Iceland.

At the end of 2009 Pálmi applied for an exemption to the rules so that he could transfer around ISK 16 million (EUR 100,257, onshore at today’s rate) into the country — Icelandic krónur which he has bought cheap overseas at the unofficial offshore exchange rate. The Central Bank rejected the application and the 16 million krónur were therefore stuck offshore, unusable.

Pálmi appealed the bank’s decision to the Reykjavík District Court; saying that the currency restrictions were against European regulation on the free movement of capital within the EEA.

In January the Reykjavík court decided to turn to the EFTA court for legal advice in the case and prepared a formal enquiry to send.

The EFTA court released its answer to the question yesterday, coming to the conclusion that a serious crisis had hit Iceland in the aftermath of the financial collapse — a crisis so serious that it was right and proper for authorities to take up protectionist measures like currency controls. The currency exchange restrictions are not, therefore, a breach of the EEA Agreement.

Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Minister of Finance Steingrímur J. Sigfússon both told RÚV they were unsurprised by the decision and that now all efforts must be applied to putting together the strongest case possible for the Icelandic side, which hopes to persuade the EFTA court that it has not acted to break European rules. Iceland will argue that there was no legal requirement for a state guarantee of Icesave deposits and Jóhanna said she believes a victory in court is perfectly possible with a good defence case.

Meanwhile Iceland’s economics and business minister Árni Páll Árnason declared that the danger posed by the court case is “limited” — reasoning that by far the biggest debt, somewhere close to ISK 200 billion, will be paid by the estate of Landsbanki in either event. The danger lies in the application of fines and interest in the event of an Icelandic court defeat; and the possibility that the country’s emergency finance laws will be brought into question.

All leaders of Iceland’s political parties were quick to call for parliamentary unity in the authorities’ approach to the court case. They all committed themselves to work together and avoid the bickering and political points scoring that surrounded the Icesave dispute over much of the last three years.

Lárus Blöndal, a Supreme Court of Iceland judge and member or Iceland’s most recent Icesave trilateral negotiating delegation told Vísir.is that he thinks it is unlikely the British and Dutch would want to renegotiate another new payment contract before the court case starts; saying that both countries feel that the contract route has come to a natural dead end. They will in all likelihood not want to sit down to negotiate with Iceland about Icesave before the EFTA court makes a decision. On the other hand, he also believes it unlikely that the British or Dutch sides will pursue damages against Iceland.

He feels that if Iceland loses in court its membership of the EEA would be in jeopardy until the matter is satisfactorily resolved. The other two countries would, he believes, use political pressure instead of taking legal action in Reykjavík courts.