Iceland narrowly rejects reopening EU membership talks in divisive referendum

Iceland narrowly rejected reopening negotiations to join the European Union, exposing a deep divide over the country’s place in the world. The proposal failed with 52.8% of 225,031 votes, while 47.2% supported it. The difference was about 12,600 votes.

The referendum asked whether Iceland should resume accession talks that had been interrupted 13 years ago. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir’s center-left government had promised a vote before 2027, but brought it forward amid international tensions, including Donald Trump’s threats concerning Greenland’s sovereignty.

Those backing renewed talks argued that EU membership could strengthen Iceland’s position during geopolitical uncertainty. Iceland already belongs to the EU single market and the Schengen free-movement area, and supporters said eventual adoption of the euro could bring greater influence and economic benefits.

Opponents focused on fishing, a longstanding concern in the island nation of almost 400,000 people. The fishing and marine industry accounts for nearly 40% of Iceland’s exports. Many “No” voters feared that EU membership could reduce Iceland’s control over lucrative fishing grounds under the bloc’s common fisheries policy.

Iceland applied to join the EU in 2009, after the 2008 financial crisis and banking collapse. Negotiations had advanced considerably before a Eurosceptic government came to power in 2013 and halted them. Fishing rights were then, and remain, the central obstacle. A “Yes” vote would not have settled membership, but only opened the way toward an accession agreement requiring later approval.

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This is a big day. We have been waiting for this for years so we could vote.