Draft: Will Iceland join the EU?
Ever since the Icelandic coalition government first presented its application for EU membership in 2009, there has been an ongoing debate of whether Iceland should join the EU or not. The question of membership of the European Union (EU) has been a constantly discussed topic in Reykjavík and in Brussels since the Icelandic coalition government first presented its application in July 2009. Throughout the next three years, the accession criteria were permanently discussed. Unlike some other potential members Iceland fulfills the EU’s political and economic criteria. Additionally, it is already a member of the Schengen zone, the European Economic Area (EEA), and has a long standing democracy whose parliament dates back to the year 930. However, the new elected government of Iceland decided to put accession negotiations for joining the European Union on hold in May 2013 until a referendum can be held on the question of whether or not to continue negotiations. [123 words]
Even though Iceland would initially have profited from joining the EU, the recent Euro crisis has changed the Icelanders’ opinion on EU membership. Iceland is suffering economic pain, but Euro membership would not offer an easy way out of the financial crisis. Quite the contrary is true. Entering the Euro would mean that Iceland loses the economic advantages of currency devaluation. Iceland would, like other uncompetitive economies like Italy and Greece, suffer from high interest rates which would lead to economic stagnation and an increasing cost of government borrowing. Iceland’s krona lost as much of its value against the euro in 2008 as investors fled after the banking collapse. A weaker currency makes imports more expensive, resulting in higher inflation. In addition, Iceland wants to retain control of its territorial waters. Fishing in Iceland is of massive importance to the Icelandic economy, as it accounts for, nearly half of its exports. Iceland still has an active whaling fleet, which would have to be scrapped as the price for EU membership. Even more importantly, fishing in Iceland is based on careful exploitation which results in successfully managed fish stocks. In case of joining the EU, Iceland would have to implement/accept/adopt the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. This would have disastrous consequences for Iceland due to overfishing and extinction of endangered species, as already encountered in other EU member states. [228 words]
The EU would greatly benefit from Iceland’s membership by adding a sense of politically and geographically completeness and by giving the EU a more significant role in the Arctic. As this region is rich in untapped energy and mineral resources, the EU seeks to increase its position. However, according to the EU, Iceland would also profit from becoming an EU member state. Some of the benefits would be a greater financial stability, the reduced cost of products and services, increased tourism, access to structural funds as well as bailout mechanisms. the economic crisis shows how little freedom of action a small nation really has today. The country does participate in the European Economic Area (EEA), giving it open access to the EU market. This already requires it to share sovereignty by accepting three-quarters of the EU’s regulations, even though it plays no part at Brussels in shaping these (Norwegians call this “government by fax”). Iceland even contributes financially to the EU’s social and cohesion funds. So it is only a very small step for Iceland to become a member state and participate fully in the European Union. Far from giving up its autonomy, membership of the EU would give it influence in Brussels over the rules and policies it must already follow. [212 words]
The question of whether Iceland will join the EU is still vastly undecided considering the many disagreements between Iceland and the EU. A recent survey indicates that the population is not yet in favour of joining the EU. Although without the support of influential groups such as the fisheries and agricultural groups it is hard to envisage a “yes” vote in the eventual referendum. The outcome of the referendum will fundamentally rest on the terms of membership the Icelandic people will be bound to. While Europe may want to be flexible in negotiations with Iceland as they will benefit from their membership, Iceland is tending to stay out of the EU. [111 words]
→ 674 words altogether…
Feedback:
Our main problem was that our working title didn't correspond with the content of the paper and therefore we had to change it to "Will Iceland join the EU?" That's also the reason why we didn't really have a thesis statement. Besides that we had a couple of spelling mistakes but the group that corrected our paper said that all in all we used a wide range of different vocabulary and that our text was pretty good because the main idea of the paper came across clearly.
Our main problem was that our working title didn't correspond with the content of the paper and therefore we had to change it to "Will Iceland join the EU?" That's also the reason why we didn't really have a thesis statement. Besides that we had a couple of spelling mistakes but the group that corrected our paper said that all in all we used a wide range of different vocabulary and that our text was pretty good because the main idea of the paper came across clearly.
Final Version: Will Iceland join the EU?
Ever since the Icelandic coalition government first presented its application for EU membership in 2009, there has been an ongoing debate on whether Iceland will join the EU or not. Basically, Iceland fulfils the EU’s political and economic conditions as it is already a member of the Schengen zone, the European Economic Area (EEA), and has a long standing democracy. Nevertheless, Iceland’s accession criteria were permanently discussed. Finally, the newly elected government of Iceland decided to put accession negotiations for joining the European Union on hold in May 2013. Since then the debates have been constantly postponed and will not be continued until a referendum can be held to decide whether to proceed with discussions or not. [117 words]
Even though Iceland would initially have benefitted from joining the EU, the recent Euro crisis has changed the Icelanders’ opinion on EU membership. Iceland is currently suffering economic pain, as Iceland’s krona lost much of its value against the euro in 2008 as investors fled after the banking collapse. However, the Euro membership would not offer an easy way out of the financial crisis. Quite the contrary is true, entering the Eurozone would mean that Iceland loses the economic advantages of currency devaluation. Iceland would, like other uncompetitive economies like Italy and Greece, suffer from high interest rates which would lead to economic stagnation and an increasing cost of government borrowing. In addition to the financial aspect, Iceland wants to retain control of its territorial waters. Fishing in Iceland is of immense importance to the Icelandic economy as it accounts for nearly half of Iceland’s exports. Even more importantly, fishing in Iceland is based on careful exploitation which results in successfully managed fish stocks. In case of joining the EU, Iceland would have to adopt the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. This would have disastrous consequences for Iceland due to overfishing and extinction of endangered species, as already encountered in other EU member states. Furthermore, Iceland’s still active whaling fleet would have to be scrapped as the price for EU membership. [220 words]
The EU would greatly benefit from Iceland’s membership as this would add a sense of political and geographical completeness and give the EU a more significant role in the Arctic. The EU has been trying to strengthen its position in the polar region as it is rich in mineral resources and untapped energy. According to the EU, it would be only a small step for Iceland to become a full EU member, as it is already seen as an European country with a Scandinavian Christian heritage, a stable liberal democracy and a developed economy. Iceland also contributes financially to EU funds and is part of the European Economic Area (EEA), giving it open access to the EU market. Though Iceland is not involved in the process of creating and discussing laws, it shares its sovereignty by adopting three-quarters of EU regulations. Membership in the EU would therefore give Iceland some influence in Brussels over the rules and policies it is already obliged to implement. In addition, Iceland would also be in a stronger position to participate in future global efforts on climate change, financial and trade reform, and international security and development initiatives - all important subjects for Iceland. Other areas in which Iceland would benefit from joining the European Union are a greater financial stability provided by the Eurozone, the reduced cost of products and services and increased tourism. The access to structural funds, which Iceland already partly finances, would be beneficial for the country as well. Last but not least, joining the European Union would give Iceland the security of bailout mechanisms which have protected other small economies like Ireland and Belgium from any real economic or financial damage. [281 words]
To sum up, the question of whether or not Iceland will join the European Union in the near future is still vastly undecided due to many disagreements concerning fishery and agriculture. A recent survey shows that the Icelandic population is not yet in favour of joining the EU, fearing that the current Euro crisis would also negatively affect Iceland’s economy. Furthermore, without the support of influential associations such as the fishery and agricultural groups, it is hard to persuade the population to vote “yes” in an eventual referendum. The outcome of the referendum mainly depends on whether a consensus can be reached. In short, Europe may want to be flexible in negotiations with Iceland, as they will greatly benefit from their membership, while Iceland is inclined to remain as an autonomous country. [131 words]
→ 750 words altogether…
Feedback:
Our main problems were:
The question of whether or not Iceland will join the European Union in the near future remains undecided due to many disagreements concerning fishery and agriculture. A recent survey shows that the majority of the Icelandic population is not yet in favour of joining the EU, fearing that the current euro crisis would also negatively affect Iceland’s economy. Furthermore, without the support of influential associations such as the fishery and agricultural groups, it is hard to persuade the population to vote “yes” in a referendum. The outcome of the referendum would mainly depend on whether a consensus can be reached. In short, Europe may need to be flexible in negotiations with Iceland as they will greatly benefit Icelandic their membership, while Iceland is inclined to remain as an autonomous country. [131 words]
Feedback:
Our main problems were:
- Register (we used inadequate linking words like "basically")
- unclear referents
- we used some words in the wrong way or did not find the right collocations
- some points were not logical
- some problems with choosing the right phraseology
- punctuation
- word repetition
- In the third paragraph, the topic sentece did not support the statements in the paragraph
Final Corrected Version: Will Iceland join the EU?
Ever since the Icelandic coalition government first presented its application for EU membership in 2009, there has been ongoing debate on whether Iceland will join the EU or not. Iceland already fulfils the EU’s political and economic conditions and is already a member of the Schengen zone, the European Economic Area (EEA), and has a long standing democracy. Nevertheless, Iceland’s accession criteria were permanently discussed by the European Union and the Icelandic government. Finally, the newly elected government of Iceland decided to put accession negotiations on hold in May 2013. Since then the debates have been postponed indefinitely and will not be continued until a referendum can be held to decide whether to proceed with discussions or not. The question that remains to be answered for Icelanders is whether or not Iceland would still benefit from joining the EU. [117 words]
Even though Iceland would initially have benefitted from joining the EU, the recent euro crisis has changed Icelanders’ opinion on EU membership. Iceland is currently experiencing economic difficulties, as the krona lost much of its value against the euro in 2008 as investors fled after the banking collapse. However, EU membership would not offer an easy way out of the financial crisis. Quite the contrary is true; entering the Eurozone would mean that Iceland loses the economic advantages of currency devaluation. Iceland would, like other uncompetitive economies, such as Italy and Greece, suffer from high interest rates which would lead to economic stagnation and an increasing cost of government borrowing. Apart from the financial aspect, Iceland also wants to retain control of its territorial waters. Fishing is of immense importance to the Icelandic economy as it accounts for nearly half of Iceland’s exports. Even more importantly, fishing in Iceland is based on careful exploitation which results in successfully managed fish stocks. If Iceland were to join the EU, it would have to adopt the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. This would have disastrous consequences for Iceland due to overfishing and the eventual extinction of endangered species, as already encountered in other EU member states. Furthermore, Iceland’s still active whaling fleet would have to be abolished as part of the price for EU membership. [220 words]
The EU would greatly benefit from Iceland’s membership as this would add a sense of political and geographical completeness and give the EU a more significant role in the Arctic. The EU has been trying to strengthen its position in the polar region as it is rich in mineral resources and untapped energy. According to the EU, it would only be a small step for Iceland to become a full EU member, as it already fulfils the accession criteria of the EU. With its stable democracy, developed economy and Christian heritage Iceland resembles the current EU countries. Despite these facts, the country also contributes financially to EU funds and is part of the EEA, giving it open access to the EU market. Though Iceland is not involved in the process of creating and discussing laws, it shares its sovereignty by adopting three-quarters of EU regulations.
Even with the current euro crisis Iceland would greatly benefit from joining the EU. Membership in the EU would give Iceland some influence in Brussels over the rules and policies it is already obliged to implement and enable the country to participate in environmental and financial issues. In addition, Iceland would also be in a stronger position to participate in future global efforts on climate change, financial and trade reform, and international security and development initiatives, which are all important subjects for Iceland. Iceland would also benefit from joining the European Union in terms of a greater financial stability provided by the Eurozone, the reduced cost of products and services and increased tourism. The access to structural funds, which Iceland already partly finances, would be beneficial for the country as well. Last but not least, joining the European Union would give Iceland the security of bailout mechanisms which have protected other small economies like Ireland and Belgium from any real economic or financial damage. [281 words]
The question of whether or not Iceland will join the European Union in the near future remains undecided due to many disagreements concerning fishery and agriculture. A recent survey shows that the majority of the Icelandic population is not yet in favour of joining the EU, fearing that the current euro crisis would also negatively affect Iceland’s economy. Furthermore, without the support of influential associations such as the fishery and agricultural groups, it is hard to persuade the population to vote “yes” in a referendum. The outcome of the referendum would mainly depend on whether a consensus can be reached. In short, Europe may need to be flexible in negotiations with Iceland as they will greatly benefit Icelandic their membership, while Iceland is inclined to remain as an autonomous country. [131 words]
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