Iceland has voted against restarting talks to join the European Union, dealing a setback to a government push that had framed the referendum as a defining moment for the small Nordic nation’s future.
According to Euronews, the final tally showed 52.8 per cent voted No, against 47.2 per cent who backed reopening negotiations, out of 225,031 ballots cast, giving a turnout of 82.5 per cent. Reykjavik was the only part of the country of roughly 390,000 people where a majority favoured resuming talks, while rural districts swung heavily against the proposal.
Public broadcaster RUV described the outcome as a clear rejection of accession negotiations, though the count swayed back and forth through the night. CNN reported that when the first 87,000 votes were tallied in the early hours of Sunday, the Yes side held a narrow lead of just over 51 per cent, and NPR similarly noted that Yes appeared to be ahead hours after polls closed. That lead steadily eroded as ballots from more sceptical rural areas came in, and by Sunday morning the gap had swung firmly to No.
Iceland first applied to join the bloc in 2009, in the aftermath of the financial crisis that crippled its banking system, but the talks were shelved in 2013 after a Eurosceptic government took office. Saturday’s vote asked only whether negotiations should resume, not whether Iceland should actually join, with any eventual accession still requiring a further referendum.
Fears over Russia and Trump
The campaign was fought largely on domestic concerns, particularly the cost of living and the future of Iceland’s fishing industry, which opponents argued would be put at risk under EU rules. But the vote also unfolded against a backdrop of wider unease about European security, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and repeated threats from US President Donald Trump to take control of nearby Greenland, according to Reuters.
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, whose centre-left coalition government had pushed for the referendum, cast the choice as a “now or never” moment for Iceland’s place in Europe, according to NBC News. Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, who backed reopening talks, argued that smaller nations needed to consider carefully where they stood as the international order that had underpinned decades of security and prosperity came under growing strain.
Supporters of resuming negotiations had pointed to the possibility of lower inflation and interest rates, along with the added stability that might come from eventually adopting the euro in place of the krona. Opponents countered that EU membership would threaten Iceland’s sovereignty and control over its fishing waters, a message that appears to have resonated more strongly outside the capital.
The result is likely to disappoint officials in Brussels, who had regarded Iceland as a relatively straightforward candidate that could help ease broader scepticism toward EU enlargement, particularly at a time when Arctic security has become a growing priority for the bloc.
Iceland’s government had estimated that a Yes vote could have seen formal accession talks begin before the end of this year, running for around 18 to 24 months. With No voters prevailing instead, that timetable is now off the table, and the question of EU membership looks set to remain unresolved at least until Iceland’s next general election, due by November 2028.
Daily mail article- Iceland votes NO – poll – Was Iceland right to reject joining the EU- 92% yes they are right not to join the EU