Iceland drops bid to become part of EU

Iceland has withdrawn its bid to become part of the European Union, two years after its application was paused when a centre-right coalition party came into power. “Iceland's interests are better served outside of the European Union,” the country's foreign minister, Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson wrote on his website, the Guardian reports.

Iceland first placed its bid to become part of the EU in 2009 when the country was ruled by a left-leaning government and its economic stability had been crippled by the financial crisis.

Since taking power in 2013, Iceland's coalition government has been fervently against joining the EU, and last January it attempted to withdraw its membership bid but was forced to halt its plans when people took to the streets in protest at the decision being made without a referendum.