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Icelanders Vote on Reviving EU Membership Talks
(MENAFN) Polling stations across Iceland opened early Saturday as voters headed to the polls in a referendum deciding whether the country should restart accession negotiations with the EU.
Stations began opening as early as 9 a.m. local time, with some variation between counties, and voting will run through the evening.
Nearly 400,000 Icelanders are eligible to cast ballots on whether to resume talks with the bloc, with preliminary results expected late Saturday night into early Sunday.
Crucially, the referendum does not decide EU membership itself. A "Yes" majority would simply authorize the government to reopen negotiations — any resulting membership agreement would still require a second, separate referendum before taking effect.
Polling ahead of the vote has been tight and, at times, contradictory. A Maskina survey published earlier this week showed the "Yes" side narrowly leading at 51.3% against 48.7% opposed. An earlier Gallup poll had both camps deadlocked at 46%, with 8% undecided. Meanwhile, a separate survey cited by the European Policy Centre (EPC) found the opposite trend, with 54% against joining and 46% in favor.
Iceland's path toward the EU dates back to 2009, when it applied for membership in the aftermath of its banking system's collapse during the global financial crisis. Formal negotiations opened in 2010 but were shelved three years later after a Eurosceptic government took power. By 2015, Reykjavik had gone further, notifying Brussels it no longer wanted to be considered a candidate country at all.
Despite that withdrawal, the European Commission maintains Iceland's original application remains legally valid, treating the negotiations as merely paused rather than terminated, according to an EPC report.
Stations began opening as early as 9 a.m. local time, with some variation between counties, and voting will run through the evening.
Nearly 400,000 Icelanders are eligible to cast ballots on whether to resume talks with the bloc, with preliminary results expected late Saturday night into early Sunday.
Crucially, the referendum does not decide EU membership itself. A "Yes" majority would simply authorize the government to reopen negotiations — any resulting membership agreement would still require a second, separate referendum before taking effect.
Polling ahead of the vote has been tight and, at times, contradictory. A Maskina survey published earlier this week showed the "Yes" side narrowly leading at 51.3% against 48.7% opposed. An earlier Gallup poll had both camps deadlocked at 46%, with 8% undecided. Meanwhile, a separate survey cited by the European Policy Centre (EPC) found the opposite trend, with 54% against joining and 46% in favor.
Iceland's path toward the EU dates back to 2009, when it applied for membership in the aftermath of its banking system's collapse during the global financial crisis. Formal negotiations opened in 2010 but were shelved three years later after a Eurosceptic government took power. By 2015, Reykjavik had gone further, notifying Brussels it no longer wanted to be considered a candidate country at all.
Despite that withdrawal, the European Commission maintains Iceland's original application remains legally valid, treating the negotiations as merely paused rather than terminated, according to an EPC report.
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