Iceland votes to reject resumption of EU accession talks: narrow win for "no" camp

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Iceland votes to reject resumption of EU accession talks: narrow win for "no" camp
Iceland votes in razor-thin referendum on resuming EU membership talks
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Icelanders have voted to reject the resumption of European Union accession talks, according to results reported by Iceland’s national broadcaster RÚV on Sunday. With 52.5 percent voting against and 47.5 percent in favor, the “no” camp secured a narrow lead as votes from one remaining electoral district were still being counted .
The referendum, held on Saturday, asked voters: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?” The “no” vote performed strongly in rural areas, reaching up to 60 percent, while the “yes” side led in the capital Reykjavík, where a third of the country’s population lives . RÚV reported that the remaining district was unlikely to reverse the outcome .
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir’s government had pushed to reopen negotiations, but opposition centered on concerns over Iceland’s fishing waters, a key economic sector. The country of nearly 400,000 people applied for EU membership in 2009 following the financial crisis, but talks were suspended in 2013 after a eurosceptic government took power and formally ended in 2015 .
The result deals a setback to Brussels, where some officials had viewed Iceland as a low-risk candidate for accession. The EU had signaled willingness to find “creative solutions” on contentious issues like fisheries, according to reporting by The Journal . The referendum’s outcome is non-binding, but Frostadóttir’s coalition has pledged to respect the result .
International tensions, including the war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated ambitions toward neighboring Greenland, featured in campaign debates, though domestic economic issues dominated discussions . The government has scheduled a press conference for Sunday at 1 p.m. local time to outline its next steps .
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