GETTY Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson told Britain that German chancellor Angela Merkel decides most EU policy

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Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, who has seen his country’s economy soar outside of the EU, told the UK it has become a “diminishing power” within Brussels. Highlighting the traditional French-German dominance of EU institutions, he told the Daily Telegraph: “When it comes to the big stuff the decisions are made by two, and increasingly one country.”

Mr Gunnlaugsson also suggested recent EU agreements, such as this week’s draft deal with Turkey to tackle the migrant crisis, are already decided by Germany before national leaders even meet at Brussels summits. He added: “Others are called to meetings to approve of what has been decided, if not in the afternoon then during the middle of the night. “This seems to have become the standard way of doing things in Brussels.”

When it comes to the big stuff the decisions are made by two, and increasingly one country. Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson

Iceland’s economy is outperforming much of Europe with high growth rates, continuing its staggering recovery from the 2008 financial crash. The country is part of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) alongside Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Last year, the Icelandic government announced it had withdrawn its application for EU membership. At the time Mr Gunnlaugsson said his country’s economy would not have been able to recover had it been a member of the Brussels-based bloc. Iceland’s PM has now told the newspaper he has no intention of restarting talks over joining the EU, as he claimed “having a couple of seats among several hundred in Brussels” would have “an extremely limited effect”. Although Mr Gunnlaugsson did not comment directly on whether Britain should leave or remain part of the EU at the in/out referendum on June 23. But he said Iceland “would like to have a free trade deal” with the UK whatever British voters decide.

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