PM says EU referendum debate is less heated than elections

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir says the public debate ahead of an August 29 referendum on Iceland’s European Union membership talks is less emotionally charged than debates during parliamentary elections, mbl.is reported.

Speaking at a festive service during Hólahátíð on Sunday, Kristrún said the issue was highly divisive and taken seriously by the public. However, she said neither families, communities nor the nation as a whole were being torn apart by hostility and agitation.

Kristrún said some political leaders and commentators had used strong language, probably in the heat of the moment, to intensify divisions they believed could benefit themselves and their causes.

She attributed the lower level of emotion partly to the absence of the same party divisions seen in parliamentary elections. Voters, she said, were capable of discussing the issue calmly and making their own decisions without being misled about what was being voted on or assigned a position by party leaders.

Kristrún said she believed there could be opportunities in opening negotiations on EU membership at this point, but that it would be better not to proceed if the public did not support it.

If the result on August 29 was no, she said, all consideration of what a full membership agreement might contain would be set aside. She expressed hope that agreement could then be reached on strengthening and supporting Iceland’s agreement on the European Economic Area by fulfilling the country’s existing obligations.

If voters backed restarting membership negotiations, Kristrún said Iceland would enter the talks confidently and work together to secure a good agreement. She also promised to take particular account of concerns about changes resulting from increased cooperation with European countries, so that necessary compromises and a good outcome for Iceland could be achieved.