Icelanders Reject EU Membership Talks, Broadcaster RUV Reports

Reuters

Iceland flag.

Icelanders have voted against reopening negotiations on European Union membership, broadcaster RUV reported on Sunday, rejecting the government’s push to resume accession talks.

The result means Iceland will remain outside the EU, with voters siding with opponents who argued that the country’s control over its fishing waters was too important to put at risk.

The no camp had 52.5% of votes and the yes camp 47.5%, with only a few ballots left to be counted in one of Iceland’s six voting districts, which was already leaning toward no, online ballot counting on RUV showed on Sunday.

“The nation rejects accession negotiations with the EU,” RUV wrote.

A 'no' vote will disappoint Brussels, as some officials had cast Iceland as a low-risk case that could ⁠help ease scepticism toward EU enlargement and strategically strengthen the bloc when Arctic security is in focus.

The government had framed its membership plan as a "now or never" moment, and Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told voters in August that a "no" would put all EU speculation aside.

"Yes" campaigners have said joining the bloc could ease high interest rates and offer more security in a world unsettled by war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's rhetoric about annexing another Arctic island Greenland.

"No" campaigners said EU membership would ‌threaten ⁠the island's sovereignty and fishing waters.

The referendum campaign has fuelled debate about Iceland's place in the world, Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told reporters after casting her ballot in the capital on Saturday.

"This is a great day. We've been waiting for this for years to be ⁠able to have a vote," Frostadottir said, adding that her government would continue its work regardless of the outcome.

Iceland first applied to join the EU in 2009 when a financial crisis ⁠hit the country's small, exposed economy. A Eurosceptic government ended talks in 2013.

Geopolitical turmoil including war in the Middle East and U.S. import tariffs has brought urgency to ⁠an issue Icelanders have debated on and off for decades.



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