Iceland votes against plan to resume EU membership talks in referendum

Updated on: August 30, 2026 / 5:51 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Icelanders have rejected plans to resume negotiations to join the European Union more than a decade after previous talks stalled, the national broadcaster reported Sunday.

In a vote held Saturday, 52.8 percent of Icelanders rejected the resumption of EU entry talks suspended 13 years ago, while 47.2 percent voted 'Yes', according to the official tally published by RUV, the public broadcaster.

"The nation rejects accession negotiations with the EU," RUV wrote.

The small North Atlantic island is already a close ally of the EU, as a member of the European Economic Area and the Schengen zone, which in practical terms allows easier movement of people, capital, goods and services. Norway and Liechtenstein are the only other European countries which share the same relationship with the EU.

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.

The vote will put the long-debated issue to rest for the second time. A euroskeptic government ended EU talks in 2015.

Iceland's left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had planned for next year…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/