Icelandic voters reject a proposal to restart negotiations to join the European Union
- Iceland held a referendum on Saturday where approximately 265,000 eligible voters decided whether the country should resume long-stalled negotiations to join the European Union.
- Voters rejected the proposal with 52.8% voting against and 47.2% voting in favor, according to national broadcaster RUV.
- Reykjavik was the only area in the island nation of 400,000 people where a majority supported the referendum.
- The vote took place amid U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to control nearby Greenland, which influenced some voters to consider European solidarity.
- Iceland's left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum from its originally planned date for next year after Trump mentioned Iceland while discussing Greenland.
Iceland's voters rejected a proposal to restart negotiations on joining the European Union, with opponents defeating the measure by 52.8% to 47.2%, according to the national broadcaster RUV. The referendum, held on Saturday, put to rest a long-debated issue more than a decade after a euroskeptic government ended previous EU talks. Reykjavik was the only area in the island nation of 400,000 people where a majority supported the referendum.
The vote took place against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to control nearby Greenland, which drove some voters to favor the idea of European solidarity. Although Iceland is a NATO member, supporters of EU membership argued they would have greater protection from their neighbors if Trump made similar threats toward the volcanic island.
Iceland's left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, moved up the EU referendum it had originally planned for next year after Trump mistakenly named Iceland four times while speaking about his designs on Greenland. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, who campaigned in support of the measure, expressed hope that the result would not divide the nation.
冰岛选民否决重启欧盟入盟谈判提案
冰岛选民否决了重启欧盟入盟谈判的提案，反对方以52.8%对47.2%的比例击败该措施，根据国家广播公司RUV报道。周六举行的公投结束了长期争议，距离一个欧盟怀疑论政府结束之前的欧盟谈判已超过十年。在这个40万人口的岛国中，仅有首都雷克雅未克地区多数民众支持该公投。
公投在美国总统特朗普多次威胁控制附近格陵兰岛的背景下进行，这驱使一些选民倾向于欧洲团结的理念。虽然冰岛是北约成员国，但欧盟成员资格的支持者辩称，如果特朗普对这个火山岛提出类似威胁，他们将获得来自邻国更大的保护。
冰岛2024年当选的左倾联合政府在特朗普讨论格陵兰岛时四次误提冰岛后，将原定于明年的欧盟公投提前举行。支持该措施的总理克里斯特鲁恩·弗罗斯塔多蒂尔表示希望这一结果不会分裂国家。