Iceland says "no" to the EU, Brussels responds: We respect the people's choice

Iceland has refused to reopen negotiations for membership in the European Union, following a disputed referendum in which a majority of voters voted against resuming the integration process.

According to the results, 52.8% of voters voted against, while 47.2% supported the reopening of negotiations.

The European Commission responded with a brief statement, emphasizing that it respects the decision of the Icelandic citizens.

"The European Commission takes the referendum result into account," a spokesperson said, adding that Iceland remains a close partner of the European Union.

The President of the European Council, António Costa, also held a communication with the Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir. According to Costa's spokesperson, both parties expressed the will to continue strengthening relations between Iceland and the EU.

The referendum comes at a time when European Union enlargement has returned to the center of Brussels' political agenda, especially after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

Iceland, a special candidate

Before the referendum, Iceland was seen in Brussels as one of the countries that could speed up the enlargement process. The country is already integrated into a significant part of the common market through existing agreements with the EU, which would make the accession process potentially faster than for other candidates.

However, two sensitive issues would have presented particular difficulties: fishing and agriculture.

Iceland is not part of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and Common Agricultural Policy. These are the areas that were left out of previous discussions between Reykjavik and Brussels before negotiations were suspended in 2013.

Prime Minister Frostadóttir had warned that a negative result would close the membership issue for the remainder of her term. After the result, she stressed that the will expressed by the voters must be respected.

What does it mean for enlargement?

The referendum result could affect the EU's efforts to give new impetus to the enlargement process. After a long period of slowdown, enlargement has returned to the Brussels agenda, also for strategic and geopolitical reasons.

In this process, Montenegro remains the most advanced country among the candidates, having provisionally closed 18 out of 33 negotiation chapters and aiming for membership in 2028.

Brussels is meanwhile trying to offer concrete benefits to candidate countries even before full membership, through gradual inclusion in EU programs and policies.

Iceland's refusal does not stop the enlargement process, but it could be an unpleasant signal for Brussels, at a time when the EU seeks to convince candidate countries that the path to membership remains open and credible.