Supporters of the yes react as they watch partial results during an election-night gathering in Reykjavik, Iceland, on August 30, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP
Iceland’s voters rejected a proposal to restart negotiations on joining the European Union more than a decade after previous talks ended, the national broadcaster reported on Sunday (August 30, 2026).
The vote will put the long-debated issue to rest more than a decade after a euro-sceptic government ended EU talks.
Opponents defeated the measure by a margin of 52.8 to 47.2%, RUV reported. Reykjavik, the capital, was the only area in the island nation of 400,000 people where a majority supported the referendum.
The vote on Saturday (August 29) took place in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to control nearby Greenland, which drove some voters to favour European solidarity. Although Iceland is a NATO member, supporters said they would have greater protection from their neighbours if Mr. Trump ever made similar threats toward the volcanic island.
Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had planned for next year after Mr. Trump mistakenly named Iceland four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland.
It was a simple yes-or-no question for roughly 265,000 eligible voters: Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union? The vote count through the night had the nation on edge as the “Yes” vote took an early lead before eventually swinging in favour of the opposition. By dawn, a margin of only a few hundred votes separated the two camps before the gap grew as more ballots were tallied in areas of the country where opposition was greater.
Opponents rallied around fishing and the fact that Iceland already reaps benefits from being in the EU’s frictionless single market and the Schengen free-travel zone without the sovereignty compromises that inevitably come with full membership. They argued that Iceland’s voice would be muted in the large European Parliament and that it would be better off cutting its own trade deals, such as one with China.
Backers said EU membership would lower inflation and interest rates, and the euro would bring more stability than Iceland’s volatile króna. They said it was also in the nation’s interest to get closer to its European neighbours to tackle issues that don’t respect borders, such as climate change.
Published – August 30, 2026 05:12 pm IST
