Iceland is closely integrated with the European Union through the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen Area, but is not an EU Member State. The referendum could have paved the way for renewed rapprochement with the EU. Voters were asked whether Iceland should renew its EU membership application, which it withdrew in 2015, and resume accession negotiations.
Ahead of the vote, Prof. Dr Eiríkur Bergmann of Bifröst University analysed the domestic political debate, key contentious issues such as fisheries, agriculture, currency and security, as well as the potential implications of a Yes or No vote for Iceland’s relationship with the European Union.
On 29 August 2026, Icelandic voters rejected the resumption of EU accession negotiations by a narrow majority of 52.8 per cent. Voter turnout, at around 82 per cent, was slightly higher than in recent elections. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, who had supported the Yes campaign, said that she did not see the defeat as having consequences for her government.
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