Icelanders have voted against joining the European Union in a referendum held 13 years after the initial talks of joining the Union collapsed.
The initial request was made by the country of nearly 400,000 people in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis; however, the talks were put on hold in 2013 and effectively halted in 2015.
The country’s national broadcaster RUV reported Sunday that a simple “Yes or No” question was posed to the 265,000 registered voters on the island.
The majority of the voters, 52.8 percent to be precise, voted against resuming the talks to join the EU, whereas 47.2% voted in favour of talks suspended thirteen years ago.
RUV reported: “The nation rejects accession negotiations with the EU.”
Iceland already enjoys cordial relations with the Union as it is a member of the European Economic Area and the Schengen zone.
The referendum was earlier planned to be held next year; however, the United States President Donald Trump’s slip of tongue forced the North Atlantic island’s left-leaning coalition to push it forward.
Trump named Iceland four times while actually talking about Greenland, a semi-autonomous region in the Kingdom of Denmark which the 80-year-old Republican wants to have under the US control.
2026-08-31 19:52:00
