Iceland EU Info Centre to close?

AFP

The European Commission has no plans to renew a contract to run an EU Info Centre in Iceland. The current contract expires at the end of August this year.

“The Commission’s contract for the EU Information Centre in Iceland ends on 31 August 2015. There are no plans to launch a new call for tender,” according to Maja Kocijančič, spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

The EU Info Centre was opened in Iceland in early 2011 in the context of the country’s application for membership of the European Union, submitted by the previous government. The contract was awarded jointly to the Icelandic public-relations firm Athygli and its German counterpart Media Consulta. 

The €1.4 million contract was awarded for two years, renewable for a further two years. In 2013, the contract was extended for one year and then again the year after. However, last year Athygli withdrew from the project and Media Consulta became the sole contractor.

Iceland’s current centre-right government immediately halted the EU accession process after coming to power in the 2013 general elections. Earlier this year, the government communicated to the European Union that “it remains the firm position of Government that Iceland should not be regarded as a candidate country for EU membership”.

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