Iceland votes against restarting EU membership talks - BBC News

Broadcaster RUV reports that 52.8% of voters rejected the government's proposal to resume accession talks.

Image source, ReutersImage caption, Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said the issue would not be revisited while her government remained in power

Iceland has voted against resuming talks on joining the European Union 13 years after they were broken off.

Public broadcaster RUV reported that 52.8% of the more than 225,000 people who voted had rejected the government's proposal, while 47.2% had backed it. Some 12,600 votes separated them.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir's centre-left government promised to hold a referendum by 2027, but brought it forward because of international tensions, including US President Donald Trump's threats against Greenland.

However, debate in this island nation of almost 400,000 people centred more on its fishing industry rather than security concerns.