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BRUSSELS — The leader of Iceland’s largest opposition party is urging European politicians to stay out of the country’s referendum on reopening EU membership talks next month, as senior figures across the bloc welcome the prospect of renewed negotiations.
“It’s extremely important that this decision in August will be left to the Icelandic nation,” Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, an MP and chair of the center-right Independence Party, told POLITICO. “People should just let Icelanders go through this without foreign influences.”
For Hafsteinsdóttir, who opposes membership, the issue goes to the heart of Iceland’s national identity. “Independence is emotional for Icelanders. We have only been independent for about 100 years out of 1,200.”
The Nordic country will vote on Aug. 29 on whether to resume accession talks with Brussels, with early voting beginning Monday. The referendum will not decide whether Iceland joins the EU — any eventual membership agreement would require a second public vote.
