Iceland holds knife-edge referendum on EU membership talks

Iceland holds a national referendum on Saturday on whether to restart negotiations to join the European Union.

The Nordic nation has spent the better part of two decades wrestling with the question of becoming the bloc’s 28th member.

Iceland's left-leaning government, elected in 2024, originally vowed to hold a vote next year but brought it forward because of rising geopolitical tension over Russia's war in Ukraine and Greenland.

As they head to one of hundreds of polling stations, voters will be asked a simple yes/no question:

Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?

The question relates to a previous attempt by the Icelandic government to join the EU in 2009, at the height of the global financial crisis that devastated the local economy. The accession plan was later shelved.

Saturday's vote is described as too close to call, with a Gallup poll on Friday suggesting a narrow majority of Icelanders oppose reopening talks. Other recent polls suggest a narrow lead for the yes vote.

Although Iceland has never been an EU member, it is already closely integrated with the bloc.

It is a member of both the European Economic Area (EEA) — which gives access to the EU's frictionless single market — and the Schengen Area free-travel zone.

Of Iceland's roughly 400,000 population, around 265,000 are eligible to vote.