Iceland's parliament voted to apply for membership of the European Union, opting to relinquish some of the crisis-hit country's cherished independence in the name of economic stability.
Members of Iceland's parliament, the Althingi, voted 33-28 to start membership talks with the EU. Two MPs abstained. The prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, wants to submit a membership application to the EU by the end of the month.
A final decision to join the 27-nation bloc would need approval by Icelanders in a referendum.
Iceland's economy took a battering last year when the country's banking sector and currency collapsed and the volcanic island became an early casualty of the global economic crisis. The disaster forced Icelanders to consider seeking the shelter, and restrictions, of membership in the EU and possibly the euro currency.
Sigurdardottir has said EU membership would provide a more stable exchange rate and lower interest rates. Iceland has been forced to seek a $10bn International Monetary Fund-led bailout.
But many in this nation, whose 320,000 people are mostly descended from Viking settlers, remain opposed, including some in the government coalition party, the Left-Green Movement.
Iceland is already part of the European Economic Area, a trading block that gives Icelanders the right to live and work in the EU while allowing the country to run its own agricultural, fishing and monetary policies. EU membership would hit Iceland's fishing industry, one of the few sectors to have survived the crash and a symbol of national pride. If Iceland joined the EU it would likely have to allow other European fishermen access to its waters.
Bjarni Benediktsson, leader of the minority Independence party, told politicians yesterday that Iceland should protect its interests.
"There are no credible reasons for Icelanders to give away full control of their natural resources," he said.