Icelandic Voters Reject EU Accession Talks in Referendum

A nationwide referendum in Iceland did not gain sufficient support to restart negotiations on European Union membership, according to final results released on Sunday. The 'No' camp received 52.8% of the votes, while the 'Yes' camp received 47.2%, as reported by public broadcaster RUV. Reykjavik was the only area in the country of approximately 400,000 people that supported the referendum. Around 270,000 Icelanders were eligible to vote, but voter turnout figures have not yet been disclosed. Iceland has been considering EU membership for nearly two decades, having initially applied to join in 2009 after the global financial crisis. Accession talks were halted in 2013 when a euroskeptic government took power. The current left-leaning government, elected in 2024, had planned to hold a referendum next year but moved it forward due to increasing geopolitical tensions related to Russia's war in Ukraine and Greenland. The outcome alleviates concerns among voters that EU membership would compromise Iceland's sovereignty, particularly regarding fishing rights, which have faced strong opposition from the fisheries sector, with 90% of industry stakeholders against joining the EU. The result is seen as disappointing for Brussels, which had shown willingness to negotiate on contentious issues like fishing and farming to support Iceland's accession.