REYKJAVIK (AFP) - Icelandic lawmakers on Friday debated the government's bid to take the country into the European Union, in a process that could lead to a referendum on the contentious issue.

The speaker of the Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, said the debate would go on into Friday evening. A final vote could be held on Monday.

Iceland's Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson, a member of the governing Social Democrat party, urged members in May to throw their weight behind the government's bid to join the 27-member bloc, claiming it was "timely and necessary for the country."

If parliament gives the go-ahead to open negotiations with Brussels, voters will then be asked for their views on signing up in a referendum.

By giving voters the final say on forging closer ties with the EU, Iceland's left-wing coalition government is acknowledging the deep divisions on the issue within its own ranks.

The Social Democrats campaigned on a promise to apply for membership, while their junior coalition partners in the Left Green Movement oppose joining.

The Social Democrats -- who hold 20 seats while the eurosceptic Greens have 14 in the 63-seat Althingi -- could get two other pro-European parties, the Citizen Movement and the Progressive Party, to back their resolution, observers say.

Critics say EU membership would pose a risk to Iceland's lucrative fishing industry as it would have to respect the bloc's regulations and quota systems.