Iceland's ruling party to discuss EU membership

Iceland's ruling Progressive Party is to discuss whether to start talks on joining the European Union, the prime minister's spokesman said yesterday.

"There is a proposal from some of the party members that Iceland will start negotiations in the next electoral term... which starts in 2007," spokesman Steingrimur Olafsson said.

He said the government of Prime Minister Halldor Asgrimsson had "no plans" to start EU membership talks at the moment.

Iceland, with a population of just 290,000, is a member of the European Economic Sphere and cooperates with the EU on trade issues. It is also a member of Nato.

Mr Asgrimsson has been talking about Icelandic EU membership for a couple of years, but the issue has not been at the forefront of political debate recently, said Egill Olofsson, news editor of Iceland's leading daily Morgunbladid.

A draft political platform to be debated at the Progressive Party conference beginning today contains a proposal for EU membership talks to begin after the next general election in 2007.

"I would not be surprised if this will be changed," Mr Olofsson told Reuters by telephone, noting that Agriculture Minister Gudni Augustsson had told Icelandic radio on Thursday the time was not right.