The country had been planning to hold a referendum in 2027 on whether to resume European Union (EU) accession negotiations, but according to new reports, the vote could now take place as early as this August.
Iceland applied to join the European Union in 2009, at the height of a financial crisis during which all three of its major commercial banks collapsed.
According to two sources, Iceland is considering holding a vote on reopening EU membership negotiations as early as August.
The ruling coalition in Reykjavik had pledged to hold a referendum by 2027 on restarting accession talks, after a previous government suspended negotiations in 2013.
Greenland Tensions Accelerate Timeline
However, the timetable is being brought forward amid geopolitical turbulence, Washington’s decision to impose tariffs on Iceland, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about annexing Greenland.
Two sources speaking to Politico on condition of anonymity said Iceland’s parliament is expected to announce the referendum date in the coming weeks.
The move comes after a series of intensive visits by EU politicians to Iceland and by Icelandic officials to Brussels. According to one source, if Icelanders vote “yes,” the country could join the EU ahead of other candidate states.
UK–Iceland Tensions
Meanwhile, Iceland and the United Kingdom have long had a strained relationship over fishing rights. Between the 1950s and 1970s, the two countries engaged in a series of confrontations known as the “Cod Wars.” Serious tensions also emerged during Iceland’s accession talks, with the UK objecting to the volume of mackerel caught by Icelandic fishing vessels. In the dispute known as the “Mackerel War,” the EU threatened Iceland with trade sanctions.
However, since the UK is no longer a member of the EU, fishing rights may now pose less of an obstacle. Before negotiations were frozen in 2013, Iceland had closed 11 of the 33 negotiating chapters. Montenegro, the most advanced candidate country, has only surpassed that threshold in recent months.