Talks on joining the bloc will not resume soon, Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said.
The future of Iceland’s bid to join the European Union will be debated by its parliament after a majority of voters voted against restarting accession talks in this weekend’s referendum.
A tally of votes on Sunday morning, as reported by Iceland’s RÚV national broadcaster, showed Icelanders rejecting the government’s bid to resume negotiations with the bloc by a margin of 52.8 percent to 47.2 percent. Turnout was 82.5 percent.
“We will discuss with the parliamentary foreign affairs committee how best to close this chapter. We do not intend to make any firm decisions on that,” said Social Democratic Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir at a Sunday press conference when asked what the results meant for the future of Iceland’s bid.
Frostadóttir reiterated, however, that the referendum outcome will be respected, that no further accession negotiations with the EU will be undertaken under the current government, and that EU accessions will likely be a theme in the next general election.
“It’s crucial right now that we take stock; we make a decision on what we do with … the application,” she said. The prime minister did not say when the matter would be put to parliament.
Iceland first started talks to join the EU in 2009, but those collapsed in 2013. Its membership application, however, was never formally withdrawn.
Frostadóttir said the result would not impact her role as prime minister because the referendum “was not a party political matter” — despite her support for restarting talks.
Eiríkur Bergmann, a professor of politics at Bifröst University in Iceland, called the vote a “heavy blow” for the government.
“The coalition will emerge significantly weakened domestically, having staked considerable political capital on securing a mandate to reopen these negotiations,” he said. “However, the government will probably still survive the loss.”
He added that the win for the “no” vote was largely due to the “highly technical” and “passionless campaign” waged by the “yes” camp that led voters to “ultimately prefer the safety of the status quo.”
MEP Sandro Gozi, secretary-general of the European Democratic Party, called the result a “warning” that Europe should heed. “The EU’s power of attraction remains strong and undiminished, but it can never be taken for granted.”
“The Commission respects the choice of the Icelandic people. Iceland remains a close partner of the European Union,” a Commission spokesperson said.