Reuters —
Icelanders have voted to stay out of the European Union, broadcaster RUV reported on Sunday, rejecting a government push to reopen membership talks and siding with those who said Iceland’s fishing waters were too important to risk.
Some votes from one constituency are pending but these were not expected to change the outcome, RUV said.
A ‘no’ vote will disappoint Brussels, as some officials had cast the island nation of 40,000 as a low-risk case that could help ease scepticism toward EU enlargement and strategically strengthen the bloc when Arctic security is in focus.
The government has framed membership as a shield against trade wars and Arctic rivalry and presented the referendum as a “now or never” moment, with Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadóttir warning that a “no” would put the membership question aside.
The government is due to hold a press conference at 1 p.m. (1300 GMT).
Iceland first applied to join the EU in 2009 when a financial crisis hit the country’s small, exposed economy. A Eurosceptic government ended talks in 2013.
Geopolitical turmoil, including war in the Middle East and US import tariffs, has brought urgency to an issue Icelanders have debated on and off for decades.
People with Icelandic flags attend an “Afram Island”, “Forward, Iceland”, rally, opposing the resumption of European Union accession talks at Austurvollur in Reykjavik, Iceland, on August 27, 2026.
Marco Di Marco/AP
“Yes” campaigners have said joining the bloc could help to lower interest rates and offer more security in a world unsettled by the war in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about annexing another Arctic island, Greenland.
“No” campaigners said EU membership would threaten the island’s sovereignty and fishing waters.
The referendum campaign has fueled debate about Iceland’s place in the world, Frostadóttir told reporters after casting her ballot in the capital on Saturday.
“This is a great day. We’ve been waiting for this for years to be able to have a vote,” Frostadóttir said, adding that her government would continue its work regardless of the outcome.
Debates inside Iceland have focused on interest rates, fishing rights and the cost of living rather than on security.
Iceland has grappled with high inflation and interest rates that have made mortgages expensive. Supporters of a “yes” vote have said EU membership, and possibly adopting the euro, could bring relief. Iceland’s central bank interest rate is 8%, compared with 2.25% at the European Central Bank.
The Central Bank of Iceland headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Saturday, May 30, 2026.
Laura Zapata/Bloomberg/Getty Images
“It would not solve Iceland’s structural faults, but it could become a catalyst to a more healthy economy,” said chief economist Vilhjalmur Hilmarsson at Viska, one of Iceland’s largest labour unions.
Opposition leader Gudrun Hafsteinsdottir, who has led the “no” campaign, said the economic case is overstated. “These are not problems that Brussels will solve for us. These are problems that Icelandic politicians must solve,” she said.
Voter Ragnhildur Skarphedinsdottir, 70, said Iceland was managing well on its own and that she was voting “no.”
“By staying independent as we are, we look brightly to the future,” she said before casting her ballot in Reykjavik.
Under EU rules, fishing quotas are based on historical fishing patterns, among other factors. Some Icelandic officials have said Iceland would therefore retain control of its waters, since no EU country has fished there for decades.
Hafsteinsdottir disputes that. “I know that the European Union will come up with some promises of some flexibility, especially in the beginning, but we know that it will not be for good,” she said.
*This story had been updated. *
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