Jón Bjarnason, a former minister, says that the European Union transferred money to Icelandic institutions without authorization during the integration negotiations that took place in the years 2009-2012.
This is revealed in an interview with Jón at the Spursmála forum, where the sequence of events surrounding Iceland’s membership application to the European Union during the Jóhann administration is traced. Jón was Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture until 2011.
In this way, Jón explains, among other things, how so-called IPA grants began to flow into the country without Alþingi approving the arrangement. They were directly intended to adapt the Icelandic system of government to the regulatory framework of the European Union.
Wanted Iceland to stand on its own two feet
“They were directly in order to adapt Icelandic regulations and laws and institutions in order to take it on when we join the European Union. And as a sign of this, I refused on the grounds that we did not have, we intended to do this on our own grounds and not on the basis of any financial bribes from the European Union, both my ministry and Ögmund Jónasson’s ministry, refused to accept these grants. The farmers’ association refused to accept with these grants and they had to be able to work on their own issues without receiving such bribes from the European Union.”
Jón also says that the European Union has come clean in this matter and has not gone to grave lengths with its goal. However, ministers and other leaders had to be very wary of Iceland’s representatives in the negotiations.
The interview with Jón can be seen and heard in its entirety in the player below, but it starts at minute 34:25.
