Iceland's government supported the proposal of Foreign Minister of the country Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson to drop the plan of joining the EU. The night before both the Progressive Party and the Independence Party reached an agreement to withdraw its application for accession to the European Union, Icelandic State TV and Radio Broadcasting Service reports. The government also decided to cancel the referendum on whether to continue negotiations with the EU.
"In 2009, our former Foreign Minister suggested to submit a formal application for EU membership, so it was done. Quite naturally, I made a proposal to withdraw this statement," Sveinsson said to Icelandic reporters.
