{"text":[[{"start":7.5,"text":"The EU could offer Iceland a carve-out on fishing policy to accelerate the country’s potential bid to join the bloc, Brussels has said, as the union seeks to expand its footprint in the strategically important Arctic."}],[{"start":21.7,"text":"Iceland is preparing for a referendum in August on whether to restart EU membership talks, as it grapples with security concerns that have sharpened due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland. Iceland’s previous bid to join the EU, more than a decade ago, was frozen after a stand-off with Brussels over fishing rights."}],[{"start":44.349999999999994,"text":"But Costas Kadis, the EU’s commissioner for fishing, told the FT there is “definitely room for flexibility” as the bloc reviews its decades-old aquaculture policy. Asked if the EU would be open to offering Iceland exemptions, the commissioner said: “Yes, yes. It will be part of the discussions."}],[{"start":62.74999999999999,"text":"“We can find solutions on issues that are a challenge, such as sharing arrangements on shared fish stocks,” Kadis said. “Iceland and the European Union are coming closer . . . taking into consideration recent geopolitical developments.”"}],[{"start":75.85,"text":"The European Commission has intensified a rethink of its Arctic strategy since Trump’s rhetoric over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, reached a peak earlier this year. Icelandic officials were rattled by Trump repeatedly mixing up Greenland and Iceland when staking a claim to the large Arctic island."}],[{"start":93.35,"text":"The EU’s push to bring in new members is also part of a broader shift since Russia’s full-scale invasion, with Brussels currently reworking its accession process for Ukraine. Meanwhile, uncertainty over US military commitments has accelerated the bloc’s efforts to bolster its own security and bring neighbouring countries closer. "}],[{"start":113.5,"text":"Kadis, a Cypriot former agriculture minister, added flexible fishing policies could also make integration more attractive for “other like-minded countries” such as Norway, where disputes over marine products were a key factor in the petrostate rejecting EU membership in 1994."}],[{"start":131,"text":"Fishing is also a sticking point in efforts to improve the EU’s post-Brexit relationship with the UK."}],[{"start":138.45,"text":"In 2024, marine products accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the value of Iceland’s exported goods, according to Statistics Iceland. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":146.95,"text":"Some diplomats have suggested Trump’s threats against Greenland could spur Iceland to view the EU’s military support clause and new focus on defence policy as reasons to join the bloc."}],[{"start":158.7,"text":"But entering the EU has long been controversial in Iceland. Recent polling shows 47 per cent against and 40 per cent for joining, with fisheries remaining the decisive issue. "}],[{"start":170.89999999999998,"text":"Officials and diplomats say that without some form of flexibility on the issue, often cited as important for the coastal country as cars are to Germany, EU membership is unlikely. "}],[{"start":181.74999999999997,"text":"“We have built our fisheries like a business, while in the EU fisheries are still treated as a regional policy, they subsidise it. It would not work,” one Icelandic official said. "}],[{"start":192.59999999999997,"text":"But they added that the geopolitical backdrop had “totally changed” since the last round of talks, with Reykjavik increasingly nervous about Washington’s thinking following the Greenland crisis. Iceland, though a founding Nato member, does not have its own standing military, and is covered by the same cold war-era defence agreements with the US dating back to 1951."}],[{"start":214.19999999999996,"text":"Another official said that EU membership had taken on new importance from a security perspective, adding: “I think it is going to be a very, very narrow referendum . . . a fishing carve-out could definitely move the needle.”"}],[{"start":227.34999999999997,"text":"The EU’s fishing policy, from 1970, has also raised scrutiny from current member states. In a joint letter to Kadis, seen by the FT, 12 member states including Germany and France warned the administrative burden on fisheries has become so complex it is creating difficulties in day-to-day operations. "}],[{"start":247.94999999999996,"text":"One diplomat described the policies as “super complex and old school”, adding “I haven’t met anyone in Brussels who truly understands them”. "}],[{"start":256.94999999999993,"text":"Kadis said simplification would be one of the main elements in the renewed policy, which would include “modernisation and decarbonisation of the fishing fleet”, attracting “the younger generation” and modernising “the regulatory framework and make it more simple and less bureaucratic”. "}],[{"start":273.99999999999994,"text":"Data visualisation by Steve Bernard "}],[{"start":276.99999999999994,"text":"This article has been corrected to say Costas Kadis is a former Cypriot minister."}],[{"start":288.65,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776943149_7528.mp3"}