Iceland narrowly rejects resuming EU accession negotiations

Iceland has narrowly rejected the idea of resuming talks on joining the EU, public broadcaster RUV has reported. Previous negotiations were halted 13 years ago.

The referendum on Saturday saw a high turnout, with more than 225,000 people out of a population of just over 394,000 coming to the polls.

After the ballot count concluded on Sunday, RUV announced that 52.8% said ‘no’ to resuming accession talks, while 47.2% backed the idea.

The ballot asked voters just a single question: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?”

The country’s capital Reykjavik voted ‘Yes’, while people in rural areas were overwhelmingly against the EU path, underlining a split between the two parts of the country.

Russian presidential investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev has welcomed the outcome of the referendum, saying in a post on X that “Iceland knows how to play great football and how to reject the failing EU’s migrants, bureaucrats, and warmongering.”