Despite keeping details of the negotiations under wraps, Iceland’s chief negotiator Sigurgeir Thorgeirsson has described the recent meeting of the coastal states on the mackerel dispute, as “constructive”.
“This weekend’s Coastal States meeting (7-8 September) was held in an effort to reach consensus regarding mackerel catch levels. The meeting generated a constructive, positive discussion that laid the groundwork for negotiations to continue. Iceland looks forward to continuing constructive negotiations,” said Mr Thorgeirsson.
Although the Icelandic government is not prepared to go into detail on what was discussed during the meeting, he said that trade sanctions against Iceland were not on the agenda.
“Iceland expects that further discussion of sanctions will be suspended so we all can focus on positive, constructive negotiations and reach our goal of securing a lasting agreement on mackerel catch levels” said Mr Thorgeirsson.
The Icelandic government called for an early meeting of the coastal states (EU, Norway and the Faroe Islands) to propose new negotiations to find a solution to the ongoing mackerel dispute.
The Annual Coastal States Meeting will take place from 23-25 October in London.
