Voters in Iceland are heading to the polls to decide whether the country should resume long-stalled negotiations on becoming a member of the European Union and they are doing so in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats on nearby Greenland REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Voters in Iceland are heading to the polls Saturday to decide whether the country should resume long-stalled negotiations on becoming a member of the European Union, and they are doing so in the shadow of U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to control nearby Greenland.
The yes-or-no referendum question is simple enough for the 265,000 or so eligible voters: Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union? If voters reject the proposal, that's it, for a generation at least. A yes vote would trigger the start of a negotiating process with the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, that will involve discussions on 35 areas, from the economy to human rights.
Perhaps, most importantly for Iceland, its fishing stocks in the rich North Atlantic waters will be up for discussion, and not everyone is happy about that. But some also believe the European Union could offer protections if Trump were to ever make similar threats on Iceland. When Trump talked about U.S. control of Greenland, particularly at the start of this year, he altered the mood in Iceland, which is just 180 miles (290 km) away from the self-governing territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally.
Though Trump has indicated he won't use force to seize Greenland, his interest doesn't appear to have cooled. The underlying worry among many in Iceland is clear — if Greenland is seized, is Iceland next? The ensuing question is clear too — if yes, does EU membership provide a bulwark against any new Trump ambition in the North Atlantic?
Iceland’s left-leaning coalition government, elected in 2024, certainly thinks so and that's largely why it moved forward the EU referendum that it had planned for next year. EU talk is nothing new in Iceland, which formally ended its previous effort to join the bloc in 2015, largely over concerns of what membership would mean for its rich fish resources. The hefty cod and haddock catches from the chilled Arctic waters around Iceland are central to the national identity too.
The descendants of Vikings who settled Iceland have been living off the sea for centuries. With much of the country's economy geared toward its lucrative and well-managed fishing industry, fishing rights have been a talking point in the run-up to the referendum. Joining the 27-nation EU would require Iceland joining the bloc's common fisheries policy that would allow Spanish, Dutch and other trawlers into their waters.
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