Reykjavik  - Iceland has picked its chief negotiator to begin talks on joining the 27-member European Union, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Iceland reversed its a decades-long policy of independence from the EU in July, when it handed in its application to the EU in the wake of the global financial crisis that a year ago saw its three main banks collapse. The application is being assessed by the executive European Commission.

Stefan Haukur Johannesson, the new negotiator, has served in Brussels since 2005. Prior to that he was Iceland's permanent representative in Geneva to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), the United Nations and other international organisations.

He joined the foreign ministry in 1986 and is regarded as one of the North Atlantic nation's most seasoned diplomats.

If the Commission gives the green light, Iceland expects talks to begin during the first half of 2010, the foreign ministry said.

Iceland has already harmonized parts of its legal code with the EU because it is a member of the European Economic Area and the border-free Schengen zone.

Fisheries and agriculture will likely be the main sticking points. (dpa)