Iceland withdraws EU membership candidature

Iceland withdraws EU membership candidature

REYKJAVIK -- Iceland's authorities announced late on Thursday that the country's bid to join the EU as a member had been withdrawn.

The decision was made two years after a eurosceptic coalition came to power, promising it would end Iceland's European integrations process.

Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson said in a statement that the government had informed current EU president Latvia and the European Commission of its decision to annul the application.

"Iceland's interests are better served outside the European Union," the minister wrote on his website.

Iceland applied for EU membership under in 2009 after an economic crisis that made eurozone membership "an attractive prospect."

But in May 2013 the government froze membership negotiations, having at that point opened 27 chapters, with 11 informally closed.

Iceland's authorities said they wish to maintain close relations with the EU, as the country continues to have ties with the organization through membership in the Schengen zone and the European Economic Area.