Foreign Minister János Martonyi on July 9, 2010 met Össur Skarphédinsson, Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, during Mr Skarphédinsson’s official visit to Hungary.

At their meeting the ministers reviewed the issues involved in the forthcoming talks on Iceland’s EU accession. They also discussed the tasks on the agenda of Hungary’s rotating EU presidency in 2011, as well as questions of geopolitics, European energy security and bilateral relations. In this latter sphere the main area for economic cooperation is likely to be the utilization of geothermic energy.

The Icelandic minister said that on the basis of his country’s preparedness, he expected rapid accession talks. The only chapters which could present a challenge are agriculture and fisheries. He underlined that the small currency of a small country is vulnerable in the world of globalized finance, so Iceland’s goal is to join the eurozone as soon as possible.

Mr Martonyi assured his colleague of his support for Iceland’s EU accession and added that he was all the more pleased that the accession talks can begin during Hungary’s rotating EU presidency. At the same time Mr Martonyi made a point of stating that in Hungary’s opinion, the EU integration of Croatia was an issue independent of any other state’s accession endeavours.