Supporters of EU talks take the lead in Iceland referendum
In Iceland’s referendum on resuming negotiations on membership in the European Union, supporters of the initiative gained a slight lead according to preliminary vote-count results.
Preliminary results
After 87,000 ballots were counted, 51.2% of voters supported the government’s proposal to resume negotiations with the EU, while 48.8% voted against it. Deutsche Welle English reports, citing Icelandic public broadcaster RUV.
About 270,000 Icelandic citizens were eligible to vote in the referendum. No turnout data were available when the preliminary results were published.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Election officials stressed that more reliable results could become available later on Sunday.
History of the negotiations
Iceland has been discussing the possibility of joining the European Union for nearly two decades. Accession talks were suspended 13 years ago by the then eurosceptic government.
Iceland’s left-leaning government, elected in 2024, initially planned to hold the vote next year. The referendum was scheduled for an earlier date amid growing geopolitical tensions linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine and Greenland.
