Grænland er eina landsvæðið sem hefur gengið úr Evrópubandalaginu — eftir þjóðaratkvæðagreiðslu 1982 þar sem 53% kusu brottför og formlegan útgang 1. febrúar 1985. Sjávarútvegsstefna EB var meginástæðan og Grænland samdi í kjölfarið um OCT-tengsl við ESB ásamt fiskveiðasamningi sem skilar um 18 milljónum evra árlega (2024).
Enska frumtextinn
Greenland is the only territory to have left the European Community (now EU), withdrawing on 1 February 1985 after a 1982 referendum in which 53% voted to leave. Greenland had joined the EEC in 1973 as part of Denmark, despite a local majority voting against. The primary motivation for withdrawal was fisheries — Greenlanders objected to European vessels fishing in their waters under the Common Fisheries Policy. After withdrawal, Greenland negotiated an Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) association with the EU, including a fisheries partnership agreement that provides EU access to Greenlandic waters in exchange for annual payments (~€18 million per year as of 2024). Greenland's experience is directly relevant to Iceland as both are Arctic fishing nations, though Greenland's withdrawal occurred from within the EC rather than as a standalone accession decision.
Heimild
Treaty amending the Treaties establishing the European Communities with regard to Greenland (1984); EU-Greenland fisheries partnership agreement
Sáttmálinn um breytingu á stofnsáttmálum Evrópubandalaganna varðandi Grænland (1984) og fiskveiðasamningur ESB og Grænlands eru aðgengilegir á EUR-Lex.
Skoða heimild ↗Fyrirvarar
Greenland's situation differs from Iceland's in several ways: it is an autonomous territory of Denmark (not a sovereign state), has a much smaller population (~57,000), and its economy is almost entirely dependent on fisheries and Danish subsidies. The political and legal framework for a territory leaving vs a state joining are fundamentally different.