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Iceland rejects EU-accession talks plan in referendum (www.aljazeera.com)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/world@quokk.au
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[–] 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Because the EU forces you to neoliberalise. Puts strict budget limits and therefore limits welfare spending and forces you to sell off certain government industries to the “free market”. Basically EU rules are very capitalist.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    That's the origin of the EU, building a shared market for coal and steel. I'm not going to try to convince the Marxists here, but those economical ties did provide shared prosperity, stability, peace and friendships over the decades. Now, I don't know if it would work out for the specifities of Iceland. They are probably already benefiting a lot from the EU without needing to participate more actively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Coal_and_Steel_Community

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    Alright that seems like totally fair and valid criticism. Ngl.

    What do EU countries get for it in return? I read somewhere "a stable euro" - that sure seems enticing, tbh. I bet it sucks to have the value of your currency fluctuate significantly/frequently. Yeah idk. Seems like a tough choice, tbh

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago*

    Acces to tax free exports to one of the richest stable zone, visa free traveling, EU funded programs (for example to support local agriculture which has its downsides too) etc. They probably already partially benefit from these, so they don't see enough advantage to invest themselves more in the community.

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