File photo of Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir. Photo Credit: Kristrun Frostadottir, X
Trump Card Fails To Clinch Iceland’s EU Vote
By EurActiv
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By Magnus Lund Nielsen
Key Takeaways:
- Iceland voted ~53% No on reopening EU accession talks (record 82% turnout, highest since the 1944 republic vote)—sovereignty and home-grown inflation/rates beat “join the bloc vs. Trump/Greenland” framing.
- PM Frostadóttir concedes most see NATO + the U.S. defense pact + EEA/Schengen as enough safety and market access; she called the result a “victory for democracy” after asking Brussels to stay out.
- Critics say the EU overrates its pull; a former FM argued Trump-fear doesn’t make Paris/Berlin look safer, and Norway (also EEA) will watch whether Iceland’s “solve our own problems” line travels.
(EurActiv) — The desire for national sovereignty outweighed the argument that EU membership was a necessary bulwark against geopolitical instability and Donald Trump.
Despite the US president’s threats against neighbouring Greenland, the allure of joining a big bloc failed to win over voters in a small Arctic nation far from the mainland of continental Europe.
The government moved forward a long planned EU referendum in the wake of Trump’s threats to annex neighbouring Greenland.
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir pleaded in the last days of campaign that Trump’s behaviour should make Icelanders reconsider the island’s position in the world.
Conceding defeat she accepted that most Icelanders saw their biggest problems, mainly economic, as best fixed nationally rather than as part of the EU.
“It is our responsibility to deal with inflation and interest rates,” she said.
“A lot of Icelanders feel safe in this environment. They feel safe under the realm of NATO. We have a good bilateral defence agreement with the US. We have had strong ties to the EU through the EEA [European Economic Area] agreement.”
Historic turnout, same decision
Debate over reopening talks with the EU drove a record turnout with the participation of 82% of Iceland’s voters. That is the biggest turnout for a referendum since Iceland voted to leave the Kingdom of Denmark and form a republic in 1944.
As then, Iceland on Saturday rejected closer ties to its European neighbours. Almost 53% voted to not to reopen EU negotiations. The country previously began membership negotiations but shut them down in 2013.
“All of the issues that EU is supposed to solve, are problems that Iceland created ourselves,” said Haukur, a young voter who backed the ‘no’ side at the referendum on Saturday. “We should solve them ourselves.”
Already a member of the EEA, Iceland already enjoys access to the EU’s single market and is part of the Schengen free movement area. Voters felt Iceland did not have any urgency to bring it further.
“We have the EEA, so we do have access to the internal market,” Bjarni Benediktsson a former prime minister and currently CEO of the Confederation of Icelandic Enterprise, said. “And the second issue: we’re doing quite well.”
‘Victory for democracy’
Despite a more turbulent world, the EU tends to overestimate its own magnetism, said Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, a former foreign minister and current opposition MP.
“If you’re afraid of Trump, then you must be terrified when you see what’s going on in France and Germany with Le Pen and AfD,” he said on Sunday morning after the result was clear.
Closer ties to the EU will do little to help in case the US actually turns hostile on its allies, he said. “If the American system fails – regardless of the EU – then we’re fucked,” he said.
Frostadóttir praised the conduct of the referendum and promised to abide by the result.
“I see this as a victory for democracy,” she said. “Icelanders have shown that they’re wise, they can deliver on these matters, and the result is something that we will respect.”
Frostadóttir had specifically instructed Brussels to stay out of the campaign – but the EU struggled to do so.
The European Commission made no secret it would welcome Iceland at a time when Brussels is preparing for a new wave of EU enlargement.
A Commission spokesman said he “takes note” of the outcome, and that Iceland remains a close partner. “The Commission respects the choice of the Icelandic people,” he said.
António Costa, the European Council president, exchanged messages with Frostadóttir on Sunday. “Both leaders expressed their desire to continue to strengthen the relationship between the EU and Iceland,” Costa’s spokeswoman said.
Norway, also an EEA member, was keeping a watchful eye on Iceland’s decision. The EU will fear Norwegians draw the same conclusions as Icelanders.
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