Icelanders reject EU-accession talks, broadcaster RUV reports

Icelanders have voted to stay out of the European Union, broadcaster ‌RUV reported on Sunday, rejecting a government push to reopen membership talks and siding with those who said Iceland's fishing waters were too important to risk. A 'no' vote will disappoint Brussels, as some officials had cast Iceland ‌as a low-risk case that could help ease scepticism toward EU enlargement and strategically strengthen the ‌bloc when Arctic security is in focus.

The government had framed its membership plan as a "now or never" moment, and Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told voters in August that a "no" would put all EU speculation aside. "Yes" campaigners have said joining the ⁠bloc could ​ease high interest rates and ⁠offer more security in a world unsettled by war in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's rhetoric about annexing another Arctic ⁠island Greenland.

"No" campaigners said EU membership would threaten the island's sovereignty and fishing waters. The referendum campaign has fuelled ​debate about Iceland's place in the world, Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told reporters after casting her ⁠ballot in the capital on Saturday.

"This is a great day. We've been waiting for this for years to be able ⁠to ​have a vote," Frostadottir said, adding that her government would continue its work regardless of the outcome. Iceland first applied to join the EU in 2009 when a financial crisis hit the country's small, ⁠exposed economy. A Eurosceptic government ended talks in 2013.

Geopolitical turmoil including war in the Middle East ⁠and U.S. import tariffs has ⁠brought urgency to an issue Icelanders have debated on and off for decades.