Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism, or European Unionism.
The Independence Party is a liberal-conservative political party in Iceland. It is currently the largest party in the Alþingi, with 17 seats. The chairman of the party is Bjarni Benediktsson and the vice chairman of the party is Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir.
The Social Democratic Alliance, officially The Alliance – Iceland's Social Democratic Party, is a social democratic, feminist and pro-European political party in Iceland.
The Left-Green Movement, officially the Left Movement – Green Candidature and also known by its short-form name Vinstri græn (VG), is an eco-socialist political party in Iceland.
Iceland is heavily integrated into the European Union via the Agreement on the European Economic Area and the Schengen Agreement, despite its status as a non-EU member state. Iceland applied for membership in 2009 but the application was controversial and the Icelandic government withdrew it in 2015.
Antonis Samaras is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samaras started his national political career as Minister of Finance in 1989; he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1992 and Minister of Culture in 2009.
New Zealand Republic Inc. is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic.
The Democratic Party of Moldova is a centre-left, populist social-democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES) and a full member of the Socialist International. According to its statute, the PDM pleads that Moldova is an independent, sovereign, and democratic state, based on law, and integrated in the united family of European democracies. Reflecting former leader Marian Lupu's views, but also the strong influence of the Moldovan Orthodox Church, the party is more conservative on social issues, such as LGBT rights.
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is an Icelandic politician, who served as prime minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013. She became active in the trade union movement, serving as an officer.
The 2009–2011 Icelandic financial crisis protests, also referred to as the Kitchenware, Kitchen Implement or Pots and Pans Revolution, occurred in the wake of the Icelandic financial crisis. There had been regular and growing protests since October 2008 against the Icelandic government's handling of the financial crisis. The protests intensified on 20 January 2009 with thousands of people protesting at the parliament (Althing) in Reykjavík. These were at the time the largest protests in Icelandic history.
Snap parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 25 April 2009, following strong pressure from the public as a result of the Icelandic financial crisis. The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement, which formed the outgoing coalition government under Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, both made gains and formed an overall majority of seats in the Althing. The Progressive Party also made gains, and the new Citizens' Movement, formed after the January 2009 protests, gained four seats. The big loser was the Independence Party, which had been in power for 18 years until January 2009: it lost a third of its support and nine seats in the Althing.
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson is an Icelandic politician who was the youngest serving prime minister of Iceland from May 2013 until April 2016. He was also chairman of the Progressive Party from 2009 to October 2016. He was elected to the Althing as the 8th member for the Reykjavík Constituency North on 25 April 2009. He has represented the Northeast Constituency as its 1st member since 27 April 2013.
The Citizens' Movement was a political party in Iceland, founded in the lead up to the 2009 election during the Global Recession, which severely affected Iceland.
The Democracy Movement was an Icelandic political movement that was established in 1998. In the 2009 Icelandic parliamentary election it received 0.6% of the vote and is thus the second largest party not in parliament.
Pirate Party is a label adopted by political parties around the world. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy or alternatively participation in government, reform of copyright and patent law, free sharing of knowledge, information privacy, transparency, freedom of information, free speech, anti-corruption and net neutrality.
Birgitta Jónsdóttir is an Icelandic politician, anarchist, poet, and activist. She was a Member of the Althing (MP) for the Southwest Constituency from 2013 to 2017, representing the Pirate Party, having been elected at the 2013 election. She was previously an MP for Reykjavík Constituency South from 2009 to 2013. In November 2017, she has announced to retire from politics "for now".
Democratic Left was a social-democratic political party in Greece. Formed as a split from Synaspismós, DIMAR was a minor party supporting the Samaras cabinet from 21 June 2012 to 21 June 2013. After being a member of the Democratic Alignment (DIMAR) and the Movement for Change (KINAL), it affiliated to Syriza in 2019. The party dissolved in 2022.
Parliamentary elections were held in Iceland on 27 April 2013. Fifteen parties contested the elections, compared to just seven in the previous elections. The result was a victory for the two centre-right opposition parties, the Independence Party and Progressive Party, which subsequently formed a coalition government. The parties were eurosceptic and their win brought to a halt partially completed negotiations with the European Union regarding Icelandic membership.
Dawn, officially Dawn – The Organization of Justice, Fairness and Democracy is an Icelandic political organization founded 18 March 2012 to participate in the 2013 parliamentary elections. It was founded as a merger between three political parties: The Movement, Citizens' Movement, and the Liberal Party. Its founders included two current MPs, Margrét Tryggvadóttir and Þór Saari, and two former members of the now defunct Icelandic Constitutional Assembly. Lýður Árnason withdrew his membership of the party a year after it was founded.
An Icelandic Constitutional Council (Stjórnlagaráð) for the purpose of reviewing the Constitution of the Republic was appointed by a resolution of Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, on 24 March 2011. Elections were held to create a Constitutional Assembly (Stjórnlagaþing) body, but given some electoral flaws, had been ruled null and void by the Supreme Court of Iceland on 25 January 2011, leading the parliament to place most of the winning candidates into a Constitutional Council with similar mission. The question of whether the text of the proposed constitution should form a base for a future constitution was put to a non-binding referendum, where it won the approval of 67% of voters. However, the government's term finished before the reform bill could be passed, and the next government has not acted upon it.
