Iceland Could Join EU Sooner After Early Referendum

According to sources in Brussels, the Icelandic parliament will announce the date for the referendum in the coming weeks. The impetus is geopolitical unrest following Washington’s decision to impose import tariffs on Iceland and the earlier threats by US President Donald Trump to annex Greenland. 

If the referendum yields a favorable outcome, Iceland could join the European Union sooner than other candidate countries. Currently much attention is focused on the potential accession of Ukraine and Moldova, two nations threatened by Russian military aggression. 

Belonging

"The debate on enlargement is changing," EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said recently in Brussels after a meeting with Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir.  According to Kos, the discussion is increasingly about "security, belonging."

Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009 during the financial crisis when the country’s three largest banks collapsed. However, negotiations were suspended in 2013, and two years later Icelandic authorities requested to withdraw the application. 

Fisheries

Negotiations broke down at the time over the EU’s fisheries policy; Iceland was unwilling to accept fisheries restrictions imposed by Brussels. The continued whaling allowed by Reykjavik was also an obstacle.

Opinion polls in Iceland indicate growing support for EU membership. Should negotiations resume, they could proceed relatively quickly since Iceland is already part of the European Economic Area and the Schengen Area, and has previously succeeded in closing certain negotiation chapters.