Icelanders reject reopening EU membership talks

Most Icelanders have voted against reopening membership talks with the European Union, mbl.is reports. The no side received about 53% of the vote, compared with about 47% for yes.

Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, leader of the Independence Party and one of the leading voices for the no campaign, said the referendum result must be respected.

“The Icelandic people have spoken and the result is clear,” she said, adding that Iceland’s interests were best served as an independent and sovereign country working closely with Europe and other friendly nations.

Guðrún said the government should now focus on urgent domestic issues and take control of economic affairs. She said it would be most natural for the application to reopen negotiations to be formally withdrawn.

She said a no vote was not a rejection of Europe or international cooperation, but reflected a desire among many Icelanders to continue building the country’s future as an independent and sovereign nation.

“We must take control of economic affairs ourselves, bring down inflation and interest rates, and improve people’s living standards. No one will do that work for us,” she said.

Asked whether the result was a clear message that membership talks should not be reopened during the current parliamentary term, Guðrún said it could mean nothing else. She referred to the question put to voters, which asked whether talks with the EU should be reopened, and said the majority had answered no.

She also referred to the prime minister’s statement that a no result would end the process, saying she expected the government to stand by that position and respect the referendum result.

Guðrún said the outcome was likely to be a major blow to the government, which had invested heavily in the campaign and whose coalition parties had supported reopening membership talks.