Icelandic Voters Reject a Measure to Reopen Negotiations to Join the European Union, National Broadcaster Reports
Voters rejected restarting accession talks by 52.5% to 47.5%, ending hopes of reviving the stalled process and dealing a setback to Brussels.
- By a margin of 52.5% to 47.5%, Icelandic voters rejected restarting European Union accession negotiations across six voting districts.
- "No" campaigners argued membership threatened fishing quotas and sovereignty, while "Yes" supporters cited protection against President Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland.
- Prime Minister Kristr told voters the referendum was a "now or never" moment to settle the accession question, though she cautioned that specific negotiation terms remained unknown.
- Brussels is urgently trying to project strategic strength in the Arctic region, making the rejection a reputational setback for the European Union's enlargement strategy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- The decision revives memories of Norway's decisions to reject membership in 1972 and 1994, as well as Switzerland's repeated rejection of deeper integration with the European Economic Area.
173 Articles
173 Articles
(London=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Ji-yeon = Local public broadcaster... reported that Icelandic citizens voted 'against' in a referendum asking whether to resume negotiations for accession to the European Union (EU)...
Icelanders were called on to take part in a referendum on whether the country should resume negotiations to join the European Union, with the EU not leading the way
The Icelandics rejected the resumption of the negotiations for accession to the European Union, according to the final results of the referendum published on Sunday — a setback for Brussels, which saw with good eyes the prospect of an application for a prosperous North Atlantic island.
The US President confuses Iceland with Greenland when he has annexation fantasies. That's why the government in Reykjavík is seeking new partnerships – and has Iceland voted on EU accession talks. However, the bureaucratic EU is more distrustful than the erratic Trump.
Preliminary results from five of Iceland’s six electoral districts show that opponents of resuming negotiations with the EU currently hold a majority, the RUV TV channel reported
In the referendum, 52.5% of voters, or more than 99,000 people, voted against resuming negotiations. A total of 47.5%, or nearly 89,500 Icelanders, voted “in favor.” Opponents of the negotiations fear that EU membership would grant other...
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