Iceland Parliament Weighs EU Bid Withdrawal After 52.8% Reject Restarting Accession Talks
Updated
Updated · POLITICO Europe · Aug 30
Iceland Parliament Weighs EU Bid Withdrawal After 52.8% Reject Restarting Accession Talks
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Aug 30
Summary
52.8% of Icelandic voters rejected restarting EU accession talks in a weekend referendum, pushing parliament toward a debate on whether to withdraw the country’s EU membership bid.
82.5% turnout gave the result political weight after the government had sought public backing to resume negotiations with the bloc.
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said the government will consult parliament’s foreign affairs committee on how to “close this chapter,” while avoiding any immediate firm decision on the bid’s future.
The vote leaves Iceland’s long-running EU question unresolved in practice but shifts the next step from referendum campaigning to parliamentary handling of the dormant application.