Jack Power

It's keen to restart these negotiations from a more wider geopolitical perspective.

You know, the big orange shadow that's looming over everything is the Trump factor.

And I think that has in some way played a part in Iceland and others, as you said, Norway, even Canada, too.

I mean, they're not in a queue to join the EU, but there has been a reordering of people's, you know, just how people and governments see the world and see their partnerships, their alliances, because of how much Donald Trump has contributed.

taken a wrecking ball to the old traditional alliances, the Western Alliance, the Transatlantic Alliance, that really would have underpinned much of the world economy and the world kind of Western security infrastructure for the last, you know, how many years?

I think one of the things that Norway in particular are worried about is that if Iceland votes in August to say, OK, let's kick off negotiations, as I said, those would probably be pretty quick.

You know, maybe it'll take a year, it'll take two years.

You're not looking at the kind of scenario that you have when states from the Western Balkans, you know, spend a decade, two decades trying to put in place the reforms and the economic reforms

modernization required to join the EU.

So Iceland, there's a pretty good acceptance that it would move pretty quickly.

And I think what Norway are worried about

I mean, there hasn't been much discussion about Norway starting EU membership talks, but what they're concerned about is if Iceland joins, what does that then mean for the EEA, the other kind of concentric circle?

Because that's made up of, as I said, Iceland, Norway, and then, you know, the microstate Liechtenstein.

Exactly.

I think that's what Norway are saying, that if Iceland are in, you know, the imperative for Brussels and the European Commission and the rest to kind of focus as much on the EEA and concerns that maybe Norway and Iceland would have in part of that and their bargaining power would be a lot less if Iceland was in the EU.

Norway would kind of be the only...

odd one out, you know, not really taking Liechtenstein into account because they're such a small country.

So, I mean, it's interesting to see what and where and how that will shape the debate in Norway and whether, you know, it does prompt some kind of rethinking of their particular relationship with the EU.

Yeah, it's funny.

And I remember I was in Brussels, obviously, during what was billed as a crunch summit of EU leaders at the start of the year, you know, just in the middle of Trump's threats over taking Greenland by force.