Former Envoy Says EU Lacks Capability to Defend Iceland

2026-01-26 - 10:11

Iceland’s defence cannot be assured by the European Union, according to former ambassador and military expert Albert Jónsson. As reported by mbl.is, Jónsson said on the Spursmála podcast that the EU lacks the capability to defend an island in the North Atlantic and that only the United States can provide credible security guarantees. What's the Story? Comments by Albert Jónsson, former Icelandic ambassador to Washington and Moscow Statement that the European Union lacks capacity to guarantee Iceland’s defence Reference to longstanding defence arrangements with the United States through NATO Discussion linked to debate over Iceland’s potential European Union membership EU Flag flies in Iceland. Photo: Golli. EU defence doubts Jónsson, who served as Iceland’s ambassador in both Washington and Moscow, was responding to recent arguments by supporters of Iceland’s potential European Union membership that joining the bloc would secure the nation’s defence. He said such claims overlook the absence of EU military capacity. “The European Union will not guarantee the defense of Iceland. It’s not complicated. There’s no need to discuss it,” he said. He stressed that meaningful defence involves more than combat aircraft, noting requirements for “fuel jets and ... supply capacity and transport capacity that the European Union doesn’t have and doesn’t intend to have.” Jónsson also cited long-standing arrangements between Iceland and the United States through NATO, under which the US has been positioned to defend Iceland historically. Iceland has hosted US forces, notably at Keflavík Air Base, since signing a defensive agreement in 1951 following its NATO accession in 1949. He argued that the structural disparity between the EU and the US, with America’s globally pre-eminent military, means EU membership would not substitute for existing security ties.