Icelanders Reject EU Membership Talks, National Broadcaster Projects
Voters weighed the nation’s security in the wake of Trump saying he would like to acquire Greenland
Icelanders voted against restarting negotiations on joining the European Union in a nationwide referendum on Saturday, the country’s national broadcaster said, rejecting arguments that their small island nation should pull closer to Brussels after President Trump’s threats to annex Greenland.
A partial count published by national broadcaster RÚV on Sunday said 52.5% of voters didn’t want their government to reopen talks with the EU, compared with 47.5% who favored talks. RÚV said the vote count had been completed in all but one constituency and it would take “a major shake-up” in that constituency to change the overall result.
The referendum required a simple majority to pass. Although the results aren’t legally binding, the government said before the referendum that it would respect the outcome.
It was the first time Icelanders have been asked about EU negotiations in a referendum. The government said previously that, had the referendum resulted in a “yes” vote, it would have held a second referendum once negotiations were complete on whether to join the bloc.
The apparent decision to reject EU talks comes more than a decade after Reykjavík walked away from earlier negotiations with the bloc amid disagreements over control of the country’s fishing industry.
Iceland sits on the continental divide between North America and Europe, and its economy relies heavily on trade and tourism. It has long been wary of ceding more power to Brussels—although it has adopted many of the EU’s rules as a member of the European Economic Area, which extends the EU’s single market to other countries.
Iceland’s debate over EU membership shifted during the past year, after U.S. tariffs sparked a breakdown in global trading norms and Trump amplified his talk of acquiring Greenland, Iceland’s closest geographic neighbor. Advocates of reopening talks with the EU said Reykjavík should expand cooperation with like-minded partners as an insurance policy.
The country of 400,000 people doesn’t have a military of its own and depends on its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a defense pact with the U.S. for security. Opponents of EU negotiations said during the campaign that they didn’t think the bloc could offer much additional protection.
If confirmed, this weekend’s result will come as a blow for the EU, whose leaders are eager to show the 27-member bloc is still capable of absorbing new members after the U.K.’s 2020 exit. Iceland would likely have had an easier path to membership compared with other EU hopefuls because it is economically and politically stable.
A key point of contention in the referendum debate was control of Iceland’s fish stocks. Industry representatives said the EU’s common fisheries policy would interfere with Iceland’s ability to determine catch levels and fishing grounds, although EU officials had indicated before the referendum that their policies could be flexible.
Those in favor of EU talks said ahead of the referendum that joining the bloc and swapping the Icelandic króna for the euro currency could bring economic benefits such as easing inflation and the country’s high cost of living. Iceland’s annual inflation hit 5.6% in July based on EU methodology, much higher than the average levels in the EU and euro area.