« Nous croyons au libre-échange », déclare Kristrún Frostadóttir
Dans une interview exclusive accordée à Euronews, la Première ministre islandaise Kristrún Frostadóttir a réaffirmé son engagement en faveur du libre-échange en rejetant les contre-tarifs à l'encontre des États-Unis.
LIRE L’ARTICLE : http://fr.euronews.com/2025/04/15/nous-croyons-au-libre-echange-declare-kristrun-frostadottir
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Dans une interview exclusive accordée à Euronews, la Première ministre islandaise Kristrún Frostadóttir a réaffirmé son engagement en faveur du libre-échange en rejetant les contre-tarifs à l'encontre des États-Unis.
LIRE L’ARTICLE : http://fr.euronews.com/2025/04/15/nous-croyons-au-libre-echange-declare-kristrun-frostadottir
Abonnez-vous à notre chaine. Euronews est disponible sur Dailymotion en 12 langues
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00:30It is my first time
00:31First time here and first time as Prime Minister
00:33Yes
00:33So what will be your message to EU leaders when you meet them?
00:36Our message for EU leaders is we need to make sure that Iceland and the other EFTA countries are considered as countries within the internal market
00:46because we're worried right now. We're worried because of the tariffs.
00:51We got a 10% tariff from the US but we're worried that we'll see an escalation of this tariff war
00:59and there might be some spillovers that might affect our trade relationship with the EU
01:04and it's very important that they know that for a future relationship and also just to keep supply chains open that we're part of the loop.
01:11Because you're a small economy of course.
01:13And what should be the response from the EU to these tariffs?
01:15I mean we respect the fact that they want to show their strength.
01:21We respect the fact that the EU needs to put its foot down but we also need a clear message from the EU that they also respect the relationship with its main trading partners.
01:31We've always had a historically very good relationship with the EU.
01:36Iceland has upheld all its responsibilities when it comes to the EEA.
01:40And so just for ongoing positive association and relationship with the EU I think it's important that the EU shows that we are truly partners in the internal market and that trade won't be affected.
01:53And you said 10% for now.
01:55Yeah.
01:55I saw your finance minister. He wasn't too stressed for now.
01:58But what is Iceland's response to these tariffs?
02:00We are not going to respond with our own tariffs.
02:04I mean we believe in free trade.
02:06We're a small economy.
02:07Our strength in that sense is more how we negotiate our ways through those tariffs but also how we engage with other countries.
02:17So we won't be engaging in counter tariffs.
02:21Hopefully we'll see these tariffs go down.
02:23But we're also aware of the fact that in comparison to other countries this is a lower tariff.
02:32I will say our biggest concern now is an escalation of this because obviously most of our trade goes to Europe.
02:40We're very driven by exports and imports.
02:43And so anything that might affect prices and the way we do business is going to affect our economy directly.
02:51And tell me about the potential EU referendum that you might be having in Iceland as soon as 2027.
02:58Is this debate happening because of the geopolitical tensions of late?
03:02Not initially I would say though I'm sure it will affect the way we talk about this.
03:08My government decided to put the reopening of EU negotiations on the table.
03:16That's what this vote is about.
03:18Last time when we went through this process there wasn't an initial vote asking the public whether they wanted to start this process.
03:24I think that was a mistake.
03:27I think a lot of people feel like it would have been an easier process for us domestically if we had been more in line with public opinion at the time.
03:35At least asked the nation what they feel about this.
03:38So before 2027 we want to see if the nation wants to reopen these negotiations.
03:44And I'm sure the current geopolitical situation will affect it.
03:48But I mean my biggest concern is that we're not able to have a good debate about what it means to open the negotiations.
03:57That we will have a polarised debate about this.
04:01This is obviously I think what most politicians are worried about.
04:04And so hopefully we can get a balanced discussion about EU membership.
04:10And just on the nitty gritty, last time EU membership was up in Iceland one of the biggest obstacles if not the biggest was your country's fishing industry.
04:17And of course fishing rights, has that changed?
04:19And are the locals now willing to share their fleet?
04:22I think that will be our biggest concern.
04:26That's also my biggest concern.
04:28And so I think it's important that we get to a stage that if we open up these negotiations that we start off with the difficult discussions first.
04:36We left sort of agriculture and the fisheries to be the last chapters that were open.
04:42And I think it's important for the Icelandic people, if they decide to open these negotiations with the vote, that they see firsthand how we can negotiate through that.
04:56We're going to have to see what comes out of it at this point.
04:59But we won't know until we start the negotiations.
05:02And how will Norway feel?
05:03Will they be worried about the impact on EFTA and on the EA?
05:05I'm sure it's going to affect the Norwegians in the same way as if the Norwegians were to join the EU, it would affect us.
05:14I think everyone is aware of that.
05:17This is obviously a topic that is of discussion there.
05:20But like in Iceland, even though this is an international engagement matter, it's still a domestic issue.
05:26It's an internal matter.
05:28So it's not mine to comment on it.
05:29But it's for the Norwegian prime minister and for the parliament there to decide.
05:35But one issue you could perhaps comment on is Donald Trump, the US president's various comments about poaching land from other countries.
05:42We saw just last week his vice president, J.D. Vance, over in Greenland.
05:45And Putin has hinted he might take Svalbard.
05:49They both want a piece of the Arctic Sea and you're next to it.
05:52How does that make you feel?
05:53It's concerning.
05:54I will say it's gravely concerning.
05:57We are a wholly Arctic nation.
06:00I mean, the Arctic is our home.
06:02It's not just a concept in international relations for us.
06:05It's where we live.
06:07And we have very strong ties to the Greenlandic people.
06:11So this is of grave concern.
06:13I mean, our message has been and will continue to be you have to respect the sovereignty of nations.
06:18The future of Greenland will be decided by the Greenlandic people.
06:21They've only just now had a new government formed.
06:26And so it's it's very positive, I would say, to see the unity of that government because it's broad based.
06:33This is obviously a type of talk that should not be considered respectable or OK.
06:40Small countries like Iceland, they thrive on the fact that we have international law, that borders are respected.
06:46But what about an army?
06:48You don't have an army.
06:48We don't have an army, but we are a full-fledged NATO member.
06:52We're one of the founding members of NATO.
06:54We have a bilateral defense agreement with the U.S.
06:56And so our defenses have been based on that sort of international cooperation.
07:01But it is affecting our discussions of security and defense, for sure.
07:05Well, you mentioned the bilateral relations you have with the United States.
07:09Of course, European-U.S. relations now are at a historical low.
07:13There's zero trust there.
07:14And how's that impacting you then?
07:15It's always been our message to the EU and European countries.
07:19Whatever makes EU stronger and the Europeans stronger makes it a stronger ally for the U.S.
07:24And so it's very important for us that any security engagement, any sort of change in that relationship doesn't mean that it's excluding the U.S., but that it's maybe changing the relationship between the two.
07:37Because Iceland really thrives on that transatlantic unity being in place.
07:42But obviously, we're aware.
07:44But it's not a place now.
07:45It's changing.
07:46It's changing, for sure.
07:47And I think that uncertainty is uncomfortable.
07:50It is uncomfortable for a lot of people.
07:53That's why we are going through this process of reviewing our security and defense policy.
07:57And as a European leader, you're spending so much time probably reacting to what President Trump said, what he tweeted when you have to run your country as well.
08:04I wasn't expecting to be this much in the international sphere.
08:10When I ran, I mean, I ran on pure social democratic policies, welfare, housing, economy.
08:17I ran on sort of a domestic focus.
08:20But now we're seeing the international politics sort of come into our arms.
08:25And it's just something you have to engage with when you're in this job.
08:28I ran on a platform that had direct talks with people instead of just on social media.
08:35We did trips around the country.
08:36We did open meetings.
08:38The same has to happen with international relations.
08:41It can't just be something that happens in bureaucratic institutions abroad, away from us.
08:46It has to be in the public domain as well.
08:48And that's going to be the biggest, it's going to be the biggest challenge, making security in Iceland a concrete matter for the everyday household.
08:56And that's what we're going through right now.
08:58And another topic did you run on perhaps as well, climate change, global warming.
09:01It could change the Arctic as we know it.
09:03It could change the Arctic, definitely.
09:05It also creates, interestingly, these economic opportunities as well.
09:12In the north of Iceland, we see mineral opportunities in Greenland.
09:17We see shipping routes coming up.
09:19But we're also worried for our own economy when it comes to the fisheries, when it comes to changing of the ocean.
09:27So this is something that's going to be very important for us.
09:30Well, while you're in town, actually, this week, the EU-Ukraine Association meeting is taking place with the Prime Minister, Denis Shemel, in town.
09:38How is the war in Ukraine impacting you?
09:42It's raised security concerns in Iceland.
09:46Even though Ukraine is geographically further from us than maybe mainland Europe,
09:53I do think it's made Icelanders aware of the fact that this security umbrella or this peaceful umbrella that we've been living under over the past few decades,
10:05it isn't a given.
10:07We've also had sort of muted security discussions in Iceland over the past few decades, I would say.
10:14The American military left in 2005, 2006, and there hasn't been an open discussion about security threats in Iceland for a long time.
10:22And now all of a sudden we're seeing this in our backyard.
10:24So obviously our support is fully with the Ukrainian people.
10:29We've had, you know, donations going there both on military aid and humanitarian aid.
10:36But it's also changing the security landscape.
10:39And it's something that we have to push forward with.
10:42Would you feel safer inside the European Union?
10:45So we feel safe where we are right now.
10:47I wouldn't consider EU discussions or EU accessions as driven by security in and of itself.
10:54I've often had this question, especially because we saw Sweden and Finland joining NATO sort of on the back of these security concerns.
11:03But NATO is a security alliance, right?
11:06It's a defense alliance.
11:08The EU isn't a defense alliance in and of itself, even though it's building itself up.
11:13We should join the EU as part of a broader picture.
11:16I don't want to drive our EU accession talks based on fear.
11:21I don't want it based on this is the only possibility we have.
11:24This is the only way forward for Iceland.
11:27This is the only way to progress.
11:28I think that's going to lead to a polarizing debate.
11:31I think it's more important to look at EU membership as a broad spectrum.
11:38Culture, economy, finances, you know, where do we belong?
11:42Where do we do muster trade?
11:44Where do we want to be a part of?
11:46So a lot of challenges for you as you just mark 100 days in office.
11:50Prime Minister, thank you so much for being our guest here on the Europe Conversation.
11:54See you soon.
11:54Thank you.