What were Iceland's main negotiating objectives concerning taxation in the EU accession negotiations in 2009 - 2013?

What were Iceland's main negotiating objectives concerning taxation in the EU accession negotiations in 2009 - 2013?

Taxation is covered under Chapter 16. The chapter was opened on 18 December 2012. Negotiations were ongoing when they were put on hold.

Iceland requested:

• An exemption from VAT on: passenger transport, the activities of authors and composers, and funeral services.
• An authorisation to apply a reduced VAT rate on tolls for road infrastructure, particularly tunnels.
• A five-year adaptation period for rules on the importation of alcohol and tobacco by travellers and crew members.

See more information in the memorandum by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the request of the Althing's Foreign Affairs Committee on 17 April 2026 (in Icelandic).

See Chapter 16 of the accession negotiations in 2009-2013 on the old accession negotiation website.

See complete overview of all chapters in the 2009 - 2013 accession negotiations.