Iceland votes against resuming EU accession talks

The majority of Icelandic residents voted against resuming talks on their country's accession to the EU. The result of the referendum was close at 52.8 to 47.2 percent of the votes, as the count showed. Around 12,000 more people voted against continuing the negotiations that were interrupted 13 years ago than in favor.

A good 270,000 Icelanders were called to vote. According to Icelandic television, a fifth of them had already voted in advance.

Debate about EU accession for decades

The Social Democratic head of government Kristrún Frostadóttir had announced in advance that she would stick to the result of the referendum.

The country, which has a population of just around 400,000, had already applied for EU membership during the financial crisis in 2009. But after the 2013 parliamentary elections, the new EU-sceptic government put accession plans on hold.

More information coming soon.