Icelandic Voters Reject EU Talks Plan  08/31 06:18

   

   REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) -- Iceland's voters rejected restarting negotiations 
to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about 
geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland's prized 
fisheries, officials said Sunday.

   Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8% to 47.2%, the National 
Electoral Commission said. The result puts the divisive issue to rest for now 
-- more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended EU talks that had 
begun after the 2008 financial crisis.

   The vote Saturday was held in the shadow of repeated threats by U.S. 
President Donald Trump to take control of nearby Greenland. Although Iceland is 
a NATO member, supporters said European solidarity would provide greater 
protection if Trump ever made similar threats toward the volcanic island.

   Iceland's left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the 
EU referendum it had planned for next year after Trump mistakenly named Iceland 
four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland.

   The Trump administration respects "the sovereign decision" by Iceland, State 
Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. "We look forward to 
strengthening our partnership with Iceland on all fronts including security, 
energy, innovation, and economic and cultural ties, to further advance our 
shared vision of peace and prosperity," he said.

   Voters faced a simple question

   Prime Minister Kristrn Frostadttir said she did not see the loss as a 
setback for her coalition government but as a win for democracy as more than 
82% of the eligible 270,000 voters cast ballots. She said she would respect the 
result but would not rule out a future attempt to reopen the issue.

   "Things happened in the past couple of years, though, that I could not have 
predicted," she said. "But this government will not go forward with it. And 
something big has to change in the next 24 months for this to be at the top of 
the agenda."

   Gu?rn Hafsteinsdttir, leader of the opposition Independence Party who 
opposed the measure, said the result is a blow to the government but not 
European relations.

   "The best way to heal the wounds is for the government to listen to the 
conclusion and put this path aside," she told RUV, the national broadcaster. 
"Because we want to remain in close contact with the European Union, Europe and 
as many other countries as possible, the nation is sending a clear message that 
we intend to steer that course ourselves."

   Voters faced a simple yes-or-no question: Should Iceland resume accession 
negotiations with the European Union?

   The capital of Reykjavik was the only area in the island nation of 400,000 
people where a majority supported the referendum.

   The influential fishing industry led opposition to the referendum over fears 
the bloc's common fisheries policy would open its waters to Spanish, Dutch and 
other trawlers.

   Iceland is already in the EU single market

   Descendants of Vikings, Icelanders, who won their independence from Denmark 
in 1944, have lived off the sea for centuries, and fishing is central to their 
national identity. Iceland has a proud history of refusing to be pushed around 
by bigger and richer European nations, winning the so-called Cod Wars with 
Britain in the 1970s over the right to control its waters.

   Opponents also rallied around the fact that Iceland already reaps benefits 
from being in the EU's frictionless single market and the Schengen free-travel 
zone without the sovereignty compromises that come with full membership. They 
argued that Iceland's voice would be muted in the large European Parliament and 
that it would be better off cutting its own trade deals, such as one with China.

   Backers said EU membership would lower inflation and interest rates, and the 
euro would bring more stability than Iceland's volatile krna currency. They 
said it was also in the nation's interest to get closer to its European 
neighbors to tackle issues that don't respect borders, such as climate change.

   Other countries face a more difficult path to EU membership

   If the proposal had been approved, it would have been a preliminary step to 
revive the lengthy negotiating process with the EU's executive branch, the 
European Commission, to discuss areas from the economy to human rights. Voters 
would have needed to approve any negotiated deal.

   The result is sure to disappoint many in the European Union. As a wealthy, 
stable and democratic country with vast fishing grounds, Iceland could have 
joined the bloc relatively quickly. Croatia was the last country to join, in 
2013.

   Most of the other candidates waiting -- including several countries in the 
Balkans, plus Moldova and conflict-torn Ukraine -- must still undertake 
time-consuming reforms to bring their laws and standards into line with those 
of the EU.

   Getting Iceland into Europe's rich club, perhaps along with Montenegro and 
possibly Moldova, over the next two years could have helped to lay to rest the 
damage to the EU caused by the departure of Britain in 2020, even though London 
now appears willing to mend ties.

   Voter Daniel Bjarkason, who opposed the measure, said Iceland should wait a 
decade or two before trying again to join the EU.

   "For now we're too divided and that's not a good look," he said. "It should 
be 70-30 Yes if we're going to do it."