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Iceland Closes Polls After Tense Vote on Reviving EU Bid
(MENAFN) Voting booths across Iceland shut their doors at 10 pm local time (2200 GMT) Saturday, capping a hard-fought referendum on whether the government should restart talks to join the European Union.
Cost-of-living pressures, national sovereignty, security concerns and the fate of the country's prized fishing industry emerged as the defining issues of the campaign.
Voters began casting ballots as early as 9 am, though closing times differed by county, pushing some polling into the night hours.
Roughly 400,000 Icelanders were registered to take part. Iceland's state broadcaster, reported that initial results are expected early Sunday.
Crucially, Saturday's vote does not itself determine EU membership. A "Yes" outcome would instead hand authorities the green light to reopen accession negotiations — with any final membership deal still requiring a separate, second referendum before taking effect.
Iceland's EU ambitions date back to 2009, when the country sought membership in the aftermath of its banking sector's collapse during the global financial crisis. Formal talks launched in 2010 but stalled three years later once a Eurosceptic administration took power. By 2015, Reykjavik had formally told Brussels it no longer considered itself a candidate for entry.
Still, the European Commission insists the bid technically remains on the books. According to the European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels regards Iceland's application as legally active, with negotiations merely paused rather than terminated.
Cost-of-living pressures, national sovereignty, security concerns and the fate of the country's prized fishing industry emerged as the defining issues of the campaign.
Voters began casting ballots as early as 9 am, though closing times differed by county, pushing some polling into the night hours.
Roughly 400,000 Icelanders were registered to take part. Iceland's state broadcaster, reported that initial results are expected early Sunday.
Crucially, Saturday's vote does not itself determine EU membership. A "Yes" outcome would instead hand authorities the green light to reopen accession negotiations — with any final membership deal still requiring a separate, second referendum before taking effect.
Iceland's EU ambitions date back to 2009, when the country sought membership in the aftermath of its banking sector's collapse during the global financial crisis. Formal talks launched in 2010 but stalled three years later once a Eurosceptic administration took power. By 2015, Reykjavik had formally told Brussels it no longer considered itself a candidate for entry.
Still, the European Commission insists the bid technically remains on the books. According to the European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels regards Iceland's application as legally active, with negotiations merely paused rather than terminated.
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