22 June 2026
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Ministry for Foreign Affairs

What is meant by "resuming accession negotiations"?

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Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson, the then-Foreign Minister of Iceland, and Stefan Füle, EU Commissioner for Enlargement in the years 2010 - 2014.

What is meant by "resuming accession negotiations"?

Although Iceland's accession negotiations were put on hold in 2013, the membership application submitted in 2009 was never formally withdrawn. The European Commission has confirmed that the application remains valid, as reported in connection with the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Iceland in July 2025.

The validity of Iceland's membership application is covered extensively in a memorandum produced by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for the Foreign Affairs Committee in August 2025 (in Icelandic).

See the website of the 2009 - 2013 accession negotiations.