Iceland could restart EU talks around New Year
Tuesday 11th August 2026 on 18:15 in
Iceland
Icelandic Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir says negotiations with the European Union could resume around the New Year if voters back reopening talks in an August 29 referendum, mbl.is reports.
“If and when there is a yes, the Icelandic government will contact the European Union and inform it that we want to resume negotiations. It seems to me that this could be possible around the New Year,” Gunnarsdóttir said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
She said the negotiations could move quickly because Iceland would not begin with the easiest issues.
“We do not intend to set aside the most difficult negotiating chapters. We will start with them and be very determined and clear about our position on fisheries, agriculture, the labour market and other issues we have highlighted,” she said.
She added that parliamentary guidance on the negotiating objectives was clear, including the possibility of seeking a self-governing arrangement for Iceland in fisheries.
Gunnarsdóttir said Iceland’s position differed from that of many other countries that had taken the same path. During the previous negotiations, Iceland opened 27 of 33 chapters and closed 11. She also said Iceland was already covered by approximately 75 per cent of the EU regulatory framework.
Asked whether Iceland could join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II, or ERM II, soon after a vote in favour, Gunnarsdóttir said the negotiations could clarify the options. Countries seeking to adopt the euro must join ERM II before doing so.
She said the European Union had repeatedly shown a willingness to take account of Iceland’s particular circumstances in fisheries and agriculture, including through Marta Kos, the EU enlargement commissioner.
Gunnarsdóttir also said Iceland’s small and highly unstable currency was a significant factor. She argued that Icelandic households and the economy would clearly benefit from entering the process as soon as possible, but that clearer indications would not come until negotiations had begun.