Icelanders vote to reject talks on joining the European Union

The “yes” camp held a slim ​majority early Sunday in partial results of Iceland’s referendum on whether to start accession talks with the European Union, according to the RUV broadcaster.

REYKJAVIK — Icelanders voted to stay out of the European Union, referendum results showed on Sunday, as they rejected a government push to reopen membership talks and sided with ⁠those who said Iceland’s fishing waters were too important to risk.

The Arctic island of 400,000 people has debated whether to join the EU for well over a decade and had initially been narrowly expected to back holding membership talks, but opinion polls this month showed views had changed.

In Saturday’s referendum, 52.8% of ballots cast were against the government’s proposal to hold negotiations with Brussels, 47.2% were in ⁠favour, and 82.5% of eligible voters took part, public broadcaster RUV and ​other ⁠Icelandic media reported.

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 Kristrún Frostadóttir warning that a “no” would put the membership ⁠question aside.

In Brussels, some officials had voiced hopes ‌a vote to join from Iceland could ease scepticism toward EU enlargement and strategically strengthen the bloc when Arctic security is in focus.