Iceland confirms will not enter EU membership talks

Iceland will not start negotiations to join the European Union, its foreign ministry said, confirming a 2013 election promise by the ruling party and formalizing a freeze on accession talks. The North Atlantic nation of 325,000 people was brought to the verge of bankruptcy in 2008 when three banks collapsed during the global financial crisis. "The government considers that Iceland is no longer a candidate country and requests the EU to act in accordance with this from now on," the foreign minist