Voters and election workers are seen inside a polling station at Reykjavik City Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo)
Iceland’s “No” camp appeared to have won a victory in a referendum on whether to resume the country’s suspended European Union membership negotiations, as ballot counting approached the end on Aug. 30.
The “No” camp had 52.5 percent of votes and the “Yes” camp 47.5 percent, with only a few ballots left to be counted in one of Iceland’s six voting districts, which was already leaning toward a “No,” online ballot counting on public broadcaster RUV showed.
“The nation rejects accession negotiations with the EU,” RUV wrote.
Barring a major last-minute turnaround, the result deals a heavy blow to Brussels, which had been keen to welcome a new wealthy member and which had appeared willing to compromise with Iceland on thorny issues in order to facilitate its accession.
The result will also likely bury the EU question in Iceland until at least 2028.
The country of just under 400,000 people applied to join the EU in the wake of a 2009 financial crisis that devastated its economy.
Membership talks were then suspended in 2013 when a Euroskeptic government came to power.
Amid growing international tensions, Iceland’s current government headed by Social Democratic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir wanted to sound out Icelanders on deepening their ties to the EU.
The small North Atlantic island is already closely linked to the EU as a member of the European Economic Area and the free-movement Schengen zone, ties which will remain unchanged regardless of the referendum outcome.
Technically, the referendum result is non-binding but the government has vowed to respect it.
