In Iceland, Voters Rejected EU Accession Talks In A Referendum

• 30.08.2026, 14:16

At the same time, in the capital, Reykjavík, the majority of residents supported European integration.

A majority of Iceland’s residents rejected resuming negotiations on the country’s accession to the European Union. After votes were counted in five of the six electoral districts, 52.8% of referendum voters opposed the move, while 47.2% supported it, according to the local television and radio broadcaster RÚV. The remaining votes will not significantly affect the outcome. Meanwhile, in the capital, Reykjavík, a majority of residents (54.5%) supported European integration. Opponents of this move fear that EU membership will limit the country’s sovereignty and jeopardize its control over its fishing resources.

Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009 following the financial crisis. Negotiations began in 2010, but in 2013 a new government suspended them, and in 2015 asked the EU to stop considering the country a candidate for membership. At the same time, Iceland is part of the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area—a common market providing for the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital.

The government of Iceland’s current prime minister, Kristrún Frostadóttir, has advocated for the resumption of negotiations, presenting them as a way to strengthen the country’s economic and political security. Geopolitical upheavals—including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as U.S. import tariffs and threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to annex another Arctic island — Greenland.

Supporters of European integration also hoped for lower inflation and borrowing costs as a result of a potential transition to the euro. Currently, the Central Bank of Iceland’s interest rate stands at 8%, while the European Central Bank’s rate is 2.25%.

Opponents of the initiative argued that Brussels would not solve Iceland’s economic problems, and that membership could limit its control over its fishing waters. Under EU rules, fishing quotas are determined in part based on historical fishing volumes. Some Icelandic officials claimed that there was no threat, since no EU country has fished in these waters for several decades. Opposition leader Gvudrun Hafsteinsdottir disagreed with this view. “The European Union will promise some flexibility, especially in the initial phase, but we know that this won’t last forever,” she said.