Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Iceland’s Economic Affairs Ministry handed in a pre-accession economic program to the European Commission as a part of a bid to join the 27-nation bloc.

The program “sets out Iceland’s main economic priorities until 2014,” according to an e-mailed press release from the ministry.

The reports outlines economic policy priorities, the macroeconomic outlook, government finances and the medium-term fiscal program, as well as newly adopted and planned structural changes in policy areas. The government said in the report that economic outlook was based on an assessment in November.

Iceland started EU entry talks in July 2010 and will probably vote on accession in early 2013. Of a total of 35 negotiating chapters for EU accession, Iceland has opened 11 and completed eight, the EU said in December. The primary challenges facing the talks are in matters relating to agriculture, environment and fisheries, according to EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule.

Half of Icelanders support the accession negotiations, according to a January poll.

--Editor: Jonas Bergman

To contact the reporter on this story: Omar R. Valdimarsson in Reykjavik valdimarsson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net