The worst conclusion to draw from Iceland’s EU referendum result last month would be that the country, apparently now on Donald Trump’s imperial map along with Canada and Greenland, wanted to distance itself from Europe.(从冰岛上月欧盟公投结果中能得出的最糟糕结论，就是认为这个如今显然与加拿大、格陵兰一道被画进特朗普帝国版图的国家想要疏远欧洲。) Rather, the decision to refuse the reopening of EU accession talks shows that asking voters to choose between membership of the 27-nation bloc and staying outside the club is too binary(非此即彼的、二元的). Some countries want to be inside the European tent(身处欧洲的保护伞之下) without necessarily becoming members. The EU needs a new status for them.
从冰岛上月那场欧盟公投结果中，最糟糕的解读莫过于认为这个国家——如今显然与加拿大和格陵兰一道被画进了唐纳德·特朗普的帝国版图——想要与欧洲拉开距离。恰恰相反，拒绝重启入盟谈判的决定表明，让选民在“加入这个27国集团”与“留在俱乐部之外”之间做选择，实在过于非此即彼。有些国家希望身处欧洲的保护伞之下，却未必想成为正式成员。欧盟需要为它们设立一种新的地位。
There are existing models of close cooperation. Iceland and Norway, for example, participate in much of the single market(单一市场) through the European Economic Area (EEA)(欧洲经济区，让非欧盟国家参与单一市场). A range of other partial, gradual or associated(联系性的、准成员的) membership options for candidate countries is being debated.
现有的紧密合作模式已经存在。例如，冰岛和挪威通过欧洲经济区（EEA）参与了大部分单一市场。目前各方还在讨论针对候选国的其他一系列部分成员、渐进成员或联系成员方案。
What I am proposing is different from any of them. It is not about setting up a stepping stone to accession, nor is it primarily about access to the single market.(它不是为了搭建通往入盟的跳板，也主要不是为了获得单一市场的准入。) Instead, it is about letting like-minded(志同道合的) countries combine with the EU when geopolitical and geo-economic necessities demand it, without them having to sign up to(承诺、同意加入) a predetermined constitutional outcome.
我所提议的方案与上述任何一种都不同。它不是为了搭建通往入盟的跳板，也主要不是为了获得单一市场的准入。相反，它是要让志同道合的国家在地缘政治和地缘经济需要时与欧盟联合起来，而不必事先承诺某种预设的宪制结果。