Iceland's EU referendum too close to call as counting continues
A tightly contested Icelandic referendum on resuming EU accession talks remains too close to call, with the gap between the two sides only a few hundred votes. The debate centred largely on the fishing industry rather than security concerns.
Vote counting is continuing in Iceland's referendum on whether to resume membership talks with the European Union, and the outcome remains uncertain. According to public broadcaster RUV, after 153,197 of roughly 270,000 eligible votes were counted, 50.1% of voters rejected the government's proposal while 49.9% supported it — a gap of just 435 votes.
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir's centre-left government had pledged to hold the referendum by 2027, but moved it forward amid rising international tensions, including threats from US President Donald Trump concerning Greenland. Despite this, debate in the island nation of almost 400,000 people focused mainly on the fishing industry rather than security issues.
Fishing rights at the heart of the dispute
Iceland is already part of the EU's single market and the Schengen border-free area, but full membership would bring it into the customs union and eventually adopt the euro. The country first applied to join the EU in 2009, following the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of its banking system, but talks were suspended after a eurosceptic government took power in 2013.
Fish and marine products make up almost 40% of Iceland's exports, and many opponents of resuming talks fear the EU's common fisheries policy would reduce national control over the country's fishing grounds.
Not a final decision
The ballot asked whether Iceland should resume accession negotiations with the EU. Even a Yes result would not represent a final decision to join — that would require approval in a further referendum. Conversely, a No result would not permanently rule out resuming talks in the future.
While economic concerns dominated the campaign, security issues also featured. Iceland is a founding NATO member but has no military of its own and depends on its allies for defence. The country has supported Ukraine throughout Russia's invasion, and officials have expressed concern over increased Russian naval activity near the island.
