The Iceland EU referendum has exposed a significant divide inside one of the country’s traditionally Eurosceptic parties, after Rósa Björk Brynjólfsdóttir, leader of the Left-Green Movement (Vinstrihreyfingin – grænt framboð), said she will vote in favour of reopening accession negotiations with the European Union on 29 August.
Her position does not amount to support for Iceland joining the EU. The referendum approved by Alþingi asks voters only whether Iceland should restart accession negotiations. Any eventual agreement resulting from those talks would still have to be submitted to voters before membership could take place.
The Iceland EU referendum is dividing the Left-Greens
Brynjólfsdóttir disclosed her voting intention in an interview with the Icelandic media outlet Gímaldið, as reported by public broadcaster RÚV.
The decision is politically notable because the Left-Green Movement has traditionally argued that Iceland’s interests are better served outside the European Union. European integration was one of the issues behind divisions on the Icelandic left when the party was established in 1999.
Brynjólfsdóttir, however, has argued that different positions on the referendum can coexist within the party. Her stance also contrasts with that of Svandís Svavarsdóttir, the former Left-Green leader, who has said she intends to vote no.
The disagreement illustrates an important distinction in the current campaign. Opposition to EU membership does not necessarily translate into opposition to reopening negotiations and examining the terms Iceland could obtain.
Left-Green voters are much more favourable to restarting talks
The party leadership’s traditional position also appears increasingly distant from its own electorate on this specific question.
According to a recent Maskína poll reported by RÚV, 93.4% of Left-Green voters said they planned to vote yes to restarting accession negotiations.
That does not mean the same voters would necessarily support membership in a later referendum. But it shows why the 29 August vote cannot be interpreted simply through Iceland’s established pro-EU and anti-EU party divisions.
For the Left-Greens in particular, the referendum is creating a distinction between the party’s long-standing scepticism towards membership and the willingness of many of its supporters to let Iceland reopen negotiations.
What Iceland will decide on 29 August
The wording approved by Alþingi on 28 May asks: “Should Iceland restart accession negotiations with the European Union?”, with voters choosing between yes and no.
The referendum therefore does not decide whether Iceland joins the EU. It determines whether the accession process, suspended more than a decade ago, should be reopened.
This distinction has been central throughout the campaign and is becoming increasingly relevant as political figures who remain cautious or opposed to membership consider supporting negotiations themselves.
Brynjólfsdóttir’s decision is another sign that the Iceland EU referendum is cutting across established party positions. With the vote approaching, the campaign is increasingly about whether Iceland should discover what a new accession agreement could contain before voters are ever asked to make a final decision on EU membership.
