Icelanders have voted against reopening negotiations to join the European Union, effectively putting the long-running debate over EU membership to rest for a second time, the country’s national broadcaster RÚV reported Sunday.
With results from all but one constituency counted, 52.5% of voters opposed resuming accession talks, while 47.5% supported the proposal. RÚV said the remaining ballots from the southwest, where the “no” campaign was leading, were unlikely to change the outcome.
The referendum was held Saturday, asking about 265,000 eligible voters whether Iceland should resume negotiations with the EU more than a decade after previous talks were abandoned.
A euroskeptic government halted Iceland’s earlier accession process in 2015.
The latest referendum took place amid heightened concerns about security in the North Atlantic following US President Donald Trump’s repeated statements about taking control of nearby Greenland. Although Iceland is a NATO member, supporters of closer EU ties argued that stronger European cooperation could provide additional security if similar threats were ever directed at Iceland.
Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, brought forward the referendum originally planned for next year. The move came after Trump repeatedly referred to Iceland instead of Greenland while discussing his interest in the Arctic territory.
Opponents of reopening EU talks focused heavily on the country’s fishing industry and argued that Iceland already enjoys many economic and travel benefits through its relationship with the EU without surrendering the level of sovereignty associated with full membership.
They also said joining the EU could weaken Iceland’s influence in the European Parliament and limit its ability to negotiate independent trade agreements, including with countries such as China.
Supporters of EU membership, meanwhile, argued that closer integration could help reduce inflation and interest rates and provide greater economic stability by replacing Iceland’s volatile krona with the euro.
They also said membership would strengthen Iceland’s ties with its European neighbors and help address cross-border challenges such as climate change.
The result means Iceland is set to remain outside the 27-member European Union, despite renewed debate over its economic and security relationship with Europe.