Today the Icelandic parliament voted in favor of applying for membership in the EU. The vote was rather close, 33 to 28. With this decision, the Icelandic government is basically authorized to begin accession talks with the EU. The road to full membership is, however, not a simple one. Several different steps have to be taken before the country can ultimately call itself the 28th member State. With today’s parliamentary authorization the main barrier in domestic law has been breached. The government is likely to formally apply for accession talks with Brussels late next week. As soon as Brussels accepts,…