Brussels - Popstar Bjork said Thursday that Iceland should join the European Union to protect the country's economy and give it a greater voice in climate change talks.

"Right now, it looks like its the only way," Iceland's greatest celebrity said when asked whether she was in favour of her country joining the EU.

Bjork said her country's businessmen and experts had told her that joining the EU should be "at the top of the (government's) list", noting that eventual membership of the common currency, the euro, would help "stabilize (Iceland's) currency".

The Icelandic central bank has been forced to hike interest rates to 18 per cent to defend the kronur, while the government is seeking an emergency 2.1-billion-dollar emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to help Iceland's economy recover from the global credit crunch.

Recent opinion polls show that public support for EU membership has surged on the island following the financial crisis.

Bjork was in Brussels to promote her Nattura campaign, which focuses on Iceland's environment, and to take part in a conference on climate change with Margot Wallstrom, vice president of the European Commission, and former Irish president Mary Robinson.

During the press conference, the singer denounced the exploitation of Iceland's natural resources by multinational firms like Alcoa and Rio Tinto with support from the Icelandic government.

"Usually I don't notice politics. I can quite happily live in the land of music making. But what did get me caught up in it was how politicians seem bent on ruining Iceland's natural environment," she said. (dpa)