Iceland voters reject closer EU ties; enlargement question remains open
Almost 53% of Iceland’s voters rejected a referendum proposal to build closer ties with the European Union. The ARTE-produced programme explores what Iceland’s no may mean for EU enlargement and whether Europe has lost its appeal.
Voters in Iceland have said no to resuming negotiations about joining the European Union. The referendum result showed that nearly 53 percent of participants opposed developing closer ties with Brussels.
The outcome places Iceland alongside other relatively wealthy European countries that have chosen to stay outside EU structures. Norway and Switzerland, for example, are frequently mentioned as nations that have no intention of becoming full members of the bloc.
The result raises a broader political question: Is the EU losing its attractiveness? Some politicians, mostly from right-wing circles, argue that membership appeals mainly to poorer countries, which hope to take advantage of the benefits offered by the union. Whether that claim is accurate remains an open issue in the debate.
There is also the question of what Iceland’s decision means for ongoing EU enlargement plans. Is it a painful blow to Brussels, or merely a temporary setback? The weekly programme that addresses these issues was produced by ARTE, the European public broadcaster. It is available in ten languages thanks to collaboration with several media outlets, including El País in Spain, Gazeta Wyborcza in Poland, Internazionale in Italy, Kathimerini in Greece, Le Soir in Belgium, Telex in Hungary, Ir in Latvia, Balkan Insight, and Sinopsis in Romania. The project is financed by the European Union through the European Media Platforms fund.
