Iceland seeks vote in August on whether or not to restart EU membership talks | EUROtoday

Iceland’s authorities desires to carry a referendum in August on whether or not to restart membership talks with the European Union, greater than a decade after getting chilly toes about becoming a member of the bloc.

The Cabinet permitted a decision on Friday calling for an Aug. 29 vote on resuming accession talks, nationwide broadcaster RUV reported. The proposal should be permitted by Iceland’s parliament, the Althingi, earlier than the vote can occur.

The resolution for the fiercely unbiased Arctic island nation with a inhabitants of simply 400,000 comes as issues develop about geopolitical instability and financial pressures.

Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir’s center-left coalition authorities, elected in 2024, had mentioned it needed to carry a vote by 2027, however sped up that timetable after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to take over neighboring Greenland.

Trump a number of instances referred to Greenland as Iceland throughout a heated worldwide spat in regards to the president’s intention of buying the huge Arctic territory.

The rising price of residing, Russia’s warfare in Ukraine and trans-Atlantic tensions have additionally contributed to rising issues about Iceland’s safety. The volcanic island nation has no military and depends on NATO and a bilateral protection settlement with the United States.

For many years, Iceland averted looking for EU membership as a result of it was involved it might be compelled to share its wealthy North Atlantic fishing grounds with boats from different European nations.

It utilized to hitch the bloc in 2009, after the nation’s debt-burdened banking sector collapsed throughout the 2008 world monetary disaster. Talks had been suspended in 2013, when a center-right authorities got here to energy, and so they formally led to 2015.

Iceland participates within the EU’s single market by way of the European Economic Area, and is a part of the Schengen free-travel zone.

Ten nations are presently in accession talks with the EU, with Albania, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine prime of the listing.

Joining the bloc requires a yearslong course of run by the European Commission assessing 35 units of standards from transparency and monetary techniques to fisheries, transport networks, agricultural rules, and freedoms like speech and faith.

All present EU member nations should unanimously conform to admit the applicant. Hungary has threatened to veto Ukraine’s accession.

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Associated Press author Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed to this report.