Iceland appears to reject EU membership talks in referendum

Iceland appears to have voted against restarting European Union accession negotiations, according to results reported by national broadcaster RÚV on Sunday. With nearly all constituencies counted, the 'no' side led by 52.5% to 47.5%, a margin that RÚV said would be nearly impossible to overturn.

The referendum, held on Saturday, asked roughly 265,000 eligible voters a simple yes-or-no question: whether the country should resume talks with the EU. The vote was brought forward by Iceland's left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly mentioned Iceland while discussing his ambitions for nearby Greenland.

Supporters of EU membership argued that joining the bloc would bring economic stability, including lower inflation and interest rates, and that the euro would be steadier than Iceland's volatile króna. They also said closer ties with European neighbours would help address cross-border challenges like climate change.

Opponents, however, rallied around Iceland's fishing industry and pointed out that the country already benefits from the EU's single market and the Schengen free-travel zone without making the sovereignty compromises that full membership would require. They argued that Iceland's voice would be diluted in the European Parliament and that the country would be better off pursuing its own trade agreements, such as one with China.

This is the second time the issue has been put to rest. A euroskeptic government ended the previous EU talks in 2015, more than a decade after they first began.