Published August 30th, 2026 - 12:28 GMT
ALBAWABA - A referendum regarding EU accession talks show on Saturday that the ‘No’ camp garnered 52.8 percent of the vote while the ‘Yes’ camp secured 47.2 percent, according to public broadcaster RUV reports.The referendum marks Iceland’s official rejection of any talks of joining the EU during Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir tenure.The decision leaves the EU disappointed as EU lawmakers in Brussels were excited to welcome a new wealthy member into the union; Iceland, however, had other plans, as the country's fishing sector is a significant part of its economy, it was afraid to lose fishing rights to the EU.90 percent of Icelandic companies in the fishing industry were against the move, despite the EU’s best efforts to compromise with Iceland on fisheries and other thorny issues to facilitate accession.🇮🇸 Iceland has voted AGAINST reopening negotiations to join the EU, rejecting the government’s push to restart an accession process abandoned more than a decade ago.The government called it a “now or never” moment, but voters chose to keep control over their sovereignty and… pic.twitter.com/KbZtTL3cv0— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 30, 2026 The other goal of the EU was to use Iceland as an example of ‘positive enlargement’ to pave the way for accepting other less wealthy European countries like Montenegro.Initially hopeful, the EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had said:“Iceland’s unique specificities on fisheries and agriculture are well known. They would have to be carefully considered,“I’m confident that, together with EU member states, we would find creative solutions.”All of that has gone out of the window until 2028, as Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir has promised not to raise the issue again until the end of her term.
