Iceland has voted against reopening European Union membership negotiations, with 52.84 percent opposed.
Saturday’s referendum asked voters a direct question: should Iceland restart EU accession talks that have been on ice for over a decade? The answer was no, and it wasn’t especially close. Final results showed 118,040 votes against resuming negotiations and 105,339 in favor, out of 223,379 valid ballots cast.
Turnout was striking. Of 272,690 registered voters, 225,031 showed up, a participation rate of 82.52 percent. An additional 1,652 ballots were invalid or left blank.
As originally reported by Euro News, this vote had been a long time coming. Iceland first applied for EU membership in July 2009, following a severe financial crisis. Accession talks began the next year but were formally suspended in 2013 by a government that pledged not to restart them without putting the question to voters first.
The issue sat dormant until the 2024 parliamentary election brought a new coalition to power. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir of the Social Democratic Alliance, alongside coalition partners Viðreisn and the People’s Party, agreed to hold a referendum by 2027. Saturday’s vote was the result.
Had the yes side prevailed, the government would have been authorized to reopen talks with Brussels. Even then, any final membership deal would have needed approval in a second, separate referendum. Saturday’s result means that process never begins.
Campaign debate centered on fisheries, national sovereignty, and Iceland’s already substantial ties to Europe. The country participates in the EU single market through the European Economic Area and is a member of the Schengen Area, meaning its citizens can travel freely across most of Europe.
Supporters of renewed talks argued that full membership would give Iceland a seat at the table on rules it currently follows but has no hand in writing. They also pointed to the potential for adopting the euro as a way to reduce interest-rate volatility. Opponents, meanwhile, leaned on concerns about sovereignty and control over Iceland’s fishing waters, which have historically been a flashpoint in any discussion about closer ties with the EU.
The result closes the door, at least for now, on Iceland’s EU path. Whether a future government revisits the question remains to be seen, but Saturday’s vote was clear. A majority of Icelanders, given the direct choice, said no.