According to Reuters, local time on August 29th, Iceland held a referendum on whether to resume the negotiations for EU membership earlier that day. Voting began in the evening, and the election results were ‘tightly tied’. The issues of concern to the local population included living costs, national security, sovereignty, and control over the country’s fishery resources.
The referendum vote ended at 10 p.m. local time, and then a complex process was initiated to transport the ballots back from various town and village polling stations by airplane, ship, or car. Election officials said that reliable results of the voting might not be available until noon on August 30th local time.
A Gallup poll released on August 28 showed that a slightly majority of people oppose the government’s proposal to resume negotiations. This represents a slight change from earlier polls, which indicated that those supporting the resumption of negotiations had a slight edge.
The "proponents" who support the resumption of negotiations believe that joining the EU can help alleviate high interest rates and provide more security in a turbulent world situation. Currently, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still ongoing, and U.S. President Trump has repeatedly made threats of "annihilation" regarding another Arctic island, Greenland.
The anti-EU faction believes that joining the EU will threaten Iceland's sovereignty and its fishing rights in its maritime waters.
According to reports, even if the negotiations to join the alliance resume and are completed, Iceland will still need to hold a second referendum. Additionally, its accession to the alliance requires the approval of all existing EU member states.
Bloomberg reported on August 29 that this referendum is testing the geopolitical appeal of the European Union. The process of expanding the EU has been interrupted for 13 years, making it the longest period of inactivity in the organization’s history. As one of the countries with the highest per capita income in Europe, if Iceland approves the restart of membership negotiations, it could help dispel doubts about the EU’s attractiveness. Conversely, if the referendum rejects the renegotiation of membership, this would be a blow to the EU, which is currently seeking to accelerate the process of approving new members.
Iceland has a population of less than 400,000. In 2009, the financial crisis plunged Iceland into its most severe economic recession since its independence in 1944. Major banks in the country went bankrupt one after another. Iceland submitted an application to join the European Union, hoping to receive economic support from the EU. Negotiations regarding membership were suspended in 2013. After the Icelandic government was replaced at the end of 2024, the topic of resuming negotiations was brought up again.
