Icelanders have voted to stay out of the European Union, broadcaster RUV reported on Sunday, rejecting a government push to reopen membership talks and siding with those who said Iceland's fishing waters were too important to risk. Some votes from one constituency are pending but these were not expected to change the outcome, RUV said.
A 'no' vote would disappoint Brussels, as some officials had cast the island nation of 400,000 as a low-risk case that could ease scepticism toward EU enlargement and strategically strengthen the bloc when Arctic security is in focus. The government has framed membership as a shield against trade wars and Arctic rivalry and presented the referendum as a "now or never" moment, with Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir warning that a "no" would put the membership question aside. The government is due to hold a press conference at 1pm (1300 GMT).
Iceland first applied to join the EU in 2009 when a financial crisis hit the country's small, exposed economy. A Eurosceptic government ended talks in 2013. Geopolitical turmoil, including war in the Middle East and US import tariffs, has brought urgency to an issue Icelanders have debated on and off for decades. "Yes" campaigners have said joining the bloc could help to lower interest rates and offer more security in a world unsettled by the war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump's rhetoric about annexing another Arctic island, Greenland.
"No" campaigners said EU membership would threaten the island's sovereignty and fishing waters. The referendum campaign has fuelled debate about Iceland's place in the world, Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told reporters after casting her ballot in the capital on Saturday. "We've been waiting for this for years to be able to have a vote," Frostadottir said, adding that her government would continue its work regardless of the outcome.