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Iceland rejects EU talks
Icelandic voters rejected a proposal to restart negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum held on Saturday, with opponents winning 52.8% to 47.2% as officials said Sunday.
“Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%”
The vote was held in the shadow of repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to take control of nearby Greenland, and the result puts the issue to rest for now more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended EU talks that had begun after the 2008 financial crisis.
Public broadcaster RUV reported that 225,031 votes were cast with turnout reaching 82.5%, and the capital Reykjavik was the only area in the island nation of 400,000 people where a majority supported the referendum.
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said she would respect the outcome and that her government would not pursue further accession negotiations during its term, while AP reported she said she did not see the loss as a setback for her coalition government but as a win for democracy.
Leaders and opposition react
Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had planned for next year after Trump mistakenly named Iceland four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland, and the State Department said the Trump administration respects “the sovereign decision” by Iceland.
Opposition leader Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir of the Independence Party told RUV that “The best way to heal the wounds is for the government to listen to the conclusion and put this path aside,” while DW reported the “No” camp secured victory with 52.8% and the “Yes” camp garnered 47.2%.
Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told a news conference that her government was “not going forward with the accession talks this term,” and DW quoted her saying, “I don't see this as a setback. I see this as a victory for democracy,” as she pointed to over 80% participation.
EU chief Antonio Costa told Frostadottir the bloc “fully respects the democratic choice” of the island’s voters not to resume EU membership talks, and a Commission spokesperson said the Commission respects the choice of the Icelandic people and that Iceland remains a close partner of the EU.
What happens next
With the referendum result against restarting accession negotiations, Iceland’s parliament is set to “discuss” withdrawing the EU bid after the failed referendum, and Politico.eu reported that Frostadóttir said “We will discuss with the parliamentary foreign affairs committee how best to close this chapter.”
“We will discuss with the parliamentary foreign affairs committee how best to close this chapter”
Politico.eu also said Frostadóttir reiterated that no further accession negotiations with the EU would be undertaken under the current government, while the BBC reported that the centre-left government promised to hold a referendum by 2027 but brought it forward because of international tensions including Trump’s threats against Greenland.
The BBC said Iceland is already part of the EU’s single market and Schengen border-free zone, and it reported that full EU membership would bring Iceland into the customs union and eventually the eurozone currency union.
In the meantime, the debate remains tied to fisheries and sovereignty, with the BBC saying fishing rights were the biggest obstacle to Icelandic accession then and that many No voters feared EU membership would mean ceding control of lucrative fishing grounds under bloc policies.