Iceland’s EU referendum was a “victory for democracy” rather than a political setback, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said on Sunday after voters rejected the reopening of accession negotiations with the European Union. The government confirmed that it will not resume membership talks during the current parliamentary term, while EU institutions said Iceland would remain a close European partner.
Frostadóttir calls Iceland’s EU referendum a democratic success
The referendum held on 29 August ended with 52.8 percent voting against reopening accession negotiations and 47.2 percent in favour. Turnout reached 82.5 percent, according to the final results reported by Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Frostadóttir focused on the unusually high participation rather than the defeat of the proposal backed by her government.
“I do not see this as a setback. This is a victory for democracy. More than 80 percent of citizens took part in the vote,” the prime minister said, according to Yle.
The result closes, at least for the current parliamentary term, the possibility of restarting Iceland’s long-frozen accession process. Frostadóttir confirmed that the government will respect the referendum and will not pursue new EU membership negotiations before the next election.
The result was considerably clearer than early counts on Saturday night had suggested. During the first stages of the count, the two sides were separated by only a narrow margin, but stronger support for the No camp outside Reykjavík ultimately gave opponents of reopening negotiations a 5.6-point lead.
Iceland will remain closely integrated with the EU
Frostadóttir stressed that the result does not imply a retreat from Iceland’s existing relationship with the European Union.
Iceland will continue participating in the European Economic Area (EEA), which gives the country access to the EU single market alongside Norway and Liechtenstein. It also remains part of the Schengen Area and participates in several European programmes and agencies.
Through the EEA framework, Iceland applies a substantial share of EU single-market legislation while remaining outside EU institutions and without voting rights over the rules it subsequently implements.
The European Commission said after the referendum that it respects the decision of Icelandic voters and that Iceland will remain a close partner of the European Union. The office of European Council President António Costa similarly described Iceland as a close and reliable partner.
The relationship is already extensive. The EU is Iceland’s largest trading partner, while cooperation also covers security, research, energy, environmental policy and Arctic affairs.
EU accession talks remain frozen after more than a decade
Iceland originally applied for EU membership in 2009, following the financial crisis. Accession negotiations formally began in 2010.
The process was suspended after a change of government in 2013. By then, 27 negotiating chapters had been opened and 11 provisionally closed. In 2015, the Icelandic government asked the EU not to consider the country an active candidate for membership.
Saturday’s referendum did not concern EU membership itself. Icelanders were instead asked whether the government should restart those negotiations, after which any eventual accession agreement would have required another political decision and, in practice, a further popular vote.
The campaign exposed longstanding divisions over Iceland’s relationship with the EU. Support for restarting talks was strongest around Reykjavík, while opposition was considerably higher in rural constituencies. Fisheries policy and control over marine resources remained among the central arguments of the No campaign.
The final result nevertheless showed a country considerably divided on the European question. With almost half of voters supporting renewed negotiations and turnout above 80 percent, the debate over Iceland’s place in Europe is unlikely to disappear even though accession talks are now off the government’s agenda.
For the coming years, Iceland’s European relationship will therefore continue through the model it has followed for decades: deep economic and political integration without EU membership, alongside close cooperation with Brussels in the EEA, Schengen and other European frameworks.
