00:00The date has now been set.
00:02The Icelandic government is proposing to hold a referendum on the 29th of August
00:07on the resumption of negotiations for accession to the European Union.
00:12A resolution is expected to be presented to Parliament next week
00:16according to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
00:18For its part, the European Commission welcomes this announcement.
00:22We welcome the announcement by the Icelandic authorities
00:24on the plan to hold a referendum on the possible resumption
00:28of accession negotiations between Iceland and the European Union.
00:31Iceland is a close and valued partner of the EU.
00:35Our cooperation is already strong and wide-ranging
00:38and we look forward to continuing and further strengthening
00:41our close cooperation with the Icelandic authorities.
00:44Iceland submitted its application for membership in 2009
00:48in the wake of the international financial crisis
00:51that had severally shaken the island.
00:53Discussions between 2010 and 2013
00:56resulted in the closure of 11 of the 33 negotiation chapters.
01:01However, in 2015, the Icelandic government
01:05decided to leave the negotiating table.
01:07we're the first prepared to do that.
01:09For the years we have come to take the assistance of the EU.
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