Iceland holds referendum on EU membership
- Author:
- Svitlana Kravchenko
- Date:
Iceland is holding a referendum on Saturday, August 29, on whether to resume negotiations on the countryʼs accession to the European Union.
Reuters reports this.
Icelanders will vote yes or no on whether Iceland should resume EU accession talks in a referendum. Final results are expected on the morning of August 30.
A previous Gallup poll from August 28 showed that 51.6% intend to vote no, while 48.4% say they will vote yes.
Supporters of rapprochement with the EU believe that this could help Iceland cope with high inflation and expensive loans, as well as strengthen the countryʼs security against the backdrop of Russiaʼs war against Ukraine and growing geopolitical tensions in the Arctic.
Opponents of the negotiations believe that EU membership would threaten the countryʼs sovereignty, primarily its control over fishing waters.
“I think Iceland is better off staying outside the EU,” said former Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, saying it was important for such a small country to maintain as much independence as possible.
It is important to note that even a victory for the proponents of negotiations would not mean Iceland joining the EU. If a majority of voters say yes, the country would only resume negotiations with Brussels. After their conclusion, presumably in a few years, another referendum would be held — this time on joining the European Union.
- Iceland has previously tried to join the EU. The country applied in 2009, after a severe financial crisis that saw the country’s three largest banks fail. Negotiations were frozen in 2013, and in March 2015, the country asked to no longer be considered as a candidate.
- Iceland, with a population of about 400 000, has a strategic location in the North Atlantic, but it does not have its own army and relies on NATO membership and a 1951 defense treaty with the United States. Against this background, support for closer integration with the EU is growing in society.
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