Icelanders voted against resuming EU accession talks.

In a referendum on resuming negotiations on Iceland’s accession to the European Union, 52.8% of citizens voted against.

This was reported by Iceland’s national public broadcaster, RÚV.

In the referendum, Icelanders answered “yes” or “no” to the question of whether the country should resume accession negotiations with the European Union.

According to Icelandic public broadcaster, 52.8% of voters, or approximately 118,000 people, voted “no.” Meanwhile, 47.2%, or approximately 105,000 citizens, supported resuming negotiations.

The overall turnout for the referendum was 82.5%. This is the highest voter turnout in Iceland since the April 2009 parliamentary elections, when turnout reached 85.1%.

The voting results were consistent with a preliminary Gallup poll. According to it, 51.6% of respondents planned to vote against resuming negotiations, while 48.4% supported the move.

A positive referendum result would not automatically mean Iceland’s accession to the European Union. It would merely provide political support for resuming negotiations on an accession agreement.

Any future agreement must be approved by another referendum and by the Icelandic parliament. Furthermore, it must be supported by all 27 EU member states.

Iceland previously applied to join the European Union in 2009, following the collapse of the country’s banking sector during the 2008 global financial crisis. The issue was not put to a referendum at that time.

Accession negotiations were suspended in 2013 after a centre-right government came to power, and the process was formally completed in 2015.

Iceland is already a member of NATO, has full access to the EU single market and is part of the Schengen area.

Opponents of joining the European Union note that the country already enjoys the main benefits of European integration without restrictions on sovereignty.

At the same time, supporters of European integration believe that being outside the EU makes Iceland more vulnerable, including in security matters. Among their arguments, they also cite US President Donald Trump’s statements regarding possible territorial claims to Greenland.

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