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International News Title: Iceland to be fast-tracked into European Union to stop economic meltdown Iceland is to be fast-tracked into the European Union in an attempt to stop the country going into complete financial meltdown, it emerged last night. The small Arctic nation is expected to apply for membership within months and become the 29th member state of the EU within just two years. Olli Rehn, the European commissioner in charge of enlargement, said: 'The EU prefers two countries joining at the same time rather than individually. If Iceland applies shortly and the negotiations are rapid, Croatia and Iceland could join the EU in parallel. 'On Iceland, I hope I will be busier. It is one of the oldest democracies in the world and its strategic and economic positions would be an asset to the EU,' he told the Guardian. The holders of the EU presidency, the Czechs, are strong supporters of EU enlargement and will favour Iceland joining the bloc. The next holder, Sweden, is also expected to be sympathetic. Before Iceland is in a position to join the EU, it must first fully appoint a new government. Icelandic politicians said yesterday they were close to agreeing a deal on cabinet posts and a government policy statement, and fresh economic data on Thursday underlined the urgency of tackling the nation's crisis. The president has asked the Social Democrats and the opposition Left-Green Party to form a new government to replace the administration of Geir Haarde, who resigned as prime minister on Monday under pressure from violent public protests. His centre-right Independence Party is not being included. 'We might present a statement of government policies and the division of offices tomorrow if all goes well,' Social Affairs Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, a social democrat, told Reuters during a break in the talks. 'I assume there might be a formal changing of governments on Saturday,' she said. Social Democrat leader Ingibjorg Gisladottir has proposed Sigurdardottir become prime minister in a new cabinet while Gisladottir takes sick leave to recover from a benign brain tumour. Earlier, the central bank said the jobless rate was likely to rise to 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 and stay high for a longer time than it previously thought. Output is seen falling more than 10 per cent this year, the bank said, as it chose to leave interest rates unchanged at a record 18 per cent. The global financial crisis hit Iceland in October, ending a decade of rising prosperity in a matter of days by triggering a collapse in the currency and financial system. Prior to October, unemployment had been around one percent in the small North Atlantic nation of 320,000 people. To stay afloat, Iceland secured £7.5billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and several European countries. The crisis sparked protests as Icelanders blamed Haarde and other top officials for failing to stave off economic mayhem. Police used pepper spray and arrested six protesters on Wednesday evening at a demonstration outside a NATO meeting in the capital Reykjavik. The Social Democrats were the junior party in the outgoing coalition, while the opposition Left-Greens now lead opinion polls
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