A "no" vote in the referendum on resuming accession talks to the EU sent a clear political signal to Brussels that for Icelandic society, the burden of EU membership outweighs its benefits.
Iceland will not resume accession talks with the European Union. In the referendum, 52.8% of voters cast their ballots against, while 47.2% voted in favor. The referendum itself was not directly about joining the EU, but about resuming negotiations, which were frozen in 2013.
Iceland is already closely linked to the European Union through the European Economic Area and Schengen. Therefore, its accession could have been quite straightforward. However, the majority of voters felt that the risks to national sovereignty outweighed the potential benefits.
One of the main campaign issues was fishing. Icelanders fear that upon accession, they would have to abide by the EU's common fisheries policy and partially lose control over one of the key sectors of their economy. Fears were also voiced regarding agriculture and the expansion of Brussels' powers in economic policy.
Even rising tensions in the Arctic did not change the mood of the majority. Proponents of EU membership referred to Donald Trump's statements about Greenland and argued that membership in the Union would provide Iceland with additional guarantees. But for voters, these arguments were less important than the desire to maintain independence.
For Brussels, the outcome was an unpleasant signal. The EU is now striving to revive its enlargement policy. The accession of wealthy and stable Iceland could have shown that EU membership remains attractive not only for Eastern European countries.
In this sense, the Icelandic "no" resembles the decisions of Norway, which twice – in 1972 and 1994 – rejected EU accession. There, too, sovereignty and control over fish resources were among the main reasons.
However, the outcome of the referendum does not mean that Icelanders are anti-Europe. Rather, they consider the current model of relations with the EU to be sufficient and do not want to give up a part of their national powers.
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