Iceland rejects EU-accession talks plan in referendum

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The ‘No’ camp had 52.5 percent and the ‘Yes’ camp had 47.5 percent with only a few ballots left to count, public broadcaster RUV reports.

⁠Iceland has rejected the government’s ⁠proposal to ⁠hold accession talks with the European Union, ‌public broadcaster RUV reported, with only a small number of votes left to be counted.

The “No” camp had 52.5 percent of votes and the “Yes” camp 47.5 percent, with only a few ballots left to be counted in one of Iceland’s six voting districts, online ballot counting on RUV showed on Sunday

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“The nation rejects accession negotiations with the EU,” RUV reported.

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 United States President Donald Trump’s rhetoric ⁠about annexing another Arctic island Greenland.

“No” campaigners said EU ⁠membership would threaten Iceland’s sovereignty and fishing waters.

Iceland first applied to join the EU in 2009 when a financial crisis hit the country’s economy. A Eurosceptic government ended talks ‌in 2013.

More to come…