Iceland Votes on Resuming EU Membership Talks

Icelandic citizens will go to the polls tomorrow to decide whether the country should resume negotiations on joining the European Union.

The referendum will ask them to answer the question: “Should Iceland reopen membership negotiations with the European Union?”

For Iceland, a country of around 400,000 people, this is not the first time it has faced this issue.

Reykjavik submitted its application for EU membership in 2009, after a financial crisis and banking collapse severely affected the Icelandic economy. Negotiations between Brussels and Reykjavik continued for several years, until Iceland ended the process in 2015 through a simple letter.

The situation changed again following developments related to Greenland. Donald Trump’s threats to invade the autonomous territory, which is part of Denmark, also influenced debates in Iceland, a country defended by the United States and NATO.

Under these circumstances, Icelandic authorities brought the issue of membership back into discussion, arguing that joining the group of 27 countries would serve the country “in the existing geopolitical context.” In the spring, a plan for a referendum was also made public. It does not seek Iceland’s direct accession to the Union, but only the reopening of the debate and negotiations on the process.

Saturday’s vote will not determine Iceland’s entry into the EU. If negotiations were to lead to an accession treaty, it would have to be approved through a separate referendum. Meanwhile, a poll conducted by the newspaper DV and published at the end of July showed that supporters of the “yes” answer were leading with around 53 percent.

Croatia, which joined in 2013, remains the last country to become part of the European bloc. Since then, the European Union has faced Brexit, the complicated progress of the Western Balkan candidate countries and the extensive reconstruction process linked to Ukraine. In this reality, some capitals see Iceland as the ideal candidate.