What were Iceland's main negotiating objectives in the field of agriculture in the EU accession negotiations in 2009-2013?

Agriculture is covered under Chapter 11 of the accession negotiations. The chapter had not been opened when negotiations were put on hold in 2013. Substantial work on a negotiating position had been done when negotiations were put on hold.

The negotiating objectives were:

• To ensure sufficient agricultural support contributions to maintain unchanged total support, including customs protection. This would also apply to farming, livestock farming, and horticulture, with room for adaptation.
• To ensure a special authorisation to support Arctic agriculture given difficult conditions, with reference to the special arrangements Finland and Sweden secured for supporting agriculture in northern regions.

It should be noted that the EU’s agricultural policy has evolved so that Member States now have greater flexibility in designing support than before. Proposals for the next programme period, starting in 2028, go even further in towards greater flexibility.

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 11 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.