Reykjavik begins accession talks, closes two chapters

摘要

Nearly a year after the formal opening of accession talks with the European Union, on 27 July 2010, Iceland has managed to open four chapters for negotiations (5 - public procurement, 10 — information society and media, 25 - science and research, and 26 - education and culture). At the same meeting, held on 27 June, Reykjavik succeeded in closing two of them (25 and 26). With this impressive achievement, the tiny island, inhabited by only 320,000 people, kick-started what is known in EU-speak as the 'substantial' phase of its accession negotiations. It follows an eight-month screening process, during which the scope of talks was defined on the basis of a close analysis of Iceland's current compliance with the EU acquis.