Why Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland REFUSE to Join the EU

There are several countries in Europe that, while they maintain friendly relationships with the countries in the EU, are not, in fact, members themselves. Three of the most notable examples of this are the nations of Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland. But why is that? Why, in the decades since the EU was formed, have these countries opted to stay out of it? Watch now to find out!

The videos are made by the same team that brings you The Infographics Show.

All videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted.

[jimbøb-iq]

Geeez .. Map on thumbnail includes UK, UKRAINE and BELARUS in EU .. but forgets Cyprus ... How can anyone take this seriously..??

[Togangehverdag]

About Norway I think one of the reasons is also that Norway for most of its history was part of either Denmark or Sweden and only got full independence in 1905, which means that their national pride is very strong compared to other nations. The same goes for Iceland btw which got independence from Denmark as late as in 1944.

[Richardglendenning]

The European country closest to Iceland is Norway. The shortest distance between the two countries is from Iceland’s southeastern coast to Norway’s southwestern coast, specifically between Iceland and the Norwegian island of Jan Mayen. The approximate distance is around 970 kilometers (600 miles).

[TheAllMightyGodofCod]

"refuse"... Refuse would imply that someone asked or even tryed to force them to be part of the EU... they didn't refuse, they simply didnt apply to join....
Also, Norway is part of the Schengen area so, your explanation doesn't quite add up.

[zardi]

Switzerland ain't in france brother

[jubmelahtes]

Norway have 500 years of bad experience with unions. We've understood that it's best to just go at it alone than risk turning into a peripheral colony yet again

[fvhitmanhire]

Smart move.. If they join, they will pay the debts of the struggling members and get nothing in return 😂

[TheSietch]

Norway: the country export what the EU buys (oil, gas, hydroelectric power, fish). Norway just don’t share interest with the EU.

[kremepye]

Best thing norway ever did was not be fooled to join, recently the government of norway has ammended the constitution by stealth to allow joining the EU.
They must be paying AP alot of money.

[jdjphotographynl]

Long story short; because Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland don't need the EU badly enough to join them.

[Tommuli_Haudankaivaja]

There are also some nations in the EU who don't have good relations with the rest of EU.

[motorhead-ppel]

EU has become a control freak full of bureaucracy and not just economic partnership as advertised in the beginning. EU is regulating all sorts of things, big and small, would not be surprised if in a few years they will only allow one kind of toilet paper and regulate how much you can use per trip to the WC

[tummas]

Icelands closest neighbour is the Faroe Islands (which also is not at EU member)

[maybehuman]

The biggest problem with the EU is it's massive bureaucracy, especially in the fishing sector. Notice the nations who resist the EU (UK included) have huge maritime borders. A simpler organization like NATO makes much more sense for Europe.

[atklm]

It’s the countries that we want as a part of EU that are not too keen on joining. Those who we don’t really want that much almost demand that they get to be in EU. Isn’t it ironic? It’s like rain on your wedding day, it’s 1000 Serbias, when all you need is Switzerland..

[TelephotoTom]

That thumbnail is hilarious. Just speaks to the "quality" of this channel.

[wildsurfer]

Why have you drawn the UK’s border wrong at the start of the video?

[theseventhangel]

Either upload longer videos or create shorts you can't explain a topic like EU membership in 5 minutes

[holmaringi-skolin]

More people wants to join eu than not in Iceland, but from some odd reason our government newer listens to there people

[wat]

As a Norwegian here, when we needed help, noone came, nor will we make The Communist EU richer