Efling leader welcomes Iceland’s rejection of EU talks

Sólveig Anna Jónsdóttir, chair of the Efling trade union, welcomed Iceland’s referendum result rejecting the resumption of accession negotiations with the European Union, mbl.is reports.

About 53% of voters opposed restarting the negotiations, while approximately 47% supported it. The result was confirmed at around 10am on Sunday, when final figures from the Southwest constituency were received.

Sólveig Anna, a prominent campaigner against restarting the talks, said the margin was larger than she had expected. She said she had gone to bed early and woken at around 4am to messages indicating that the result was changing.

“I am, of course, very pleased with this result,” she said. She added that she had not dared to imagine such an outcome.

Sólveig Anna said the result reflected a deeply divided nation and argued that those in power should have understood that pursuing a path wanted only by a small group was not a good idea.

She rejected claims from supporters of restarting the talks that Iceland had spent 16 years arguing about little else. She said there were many other issues that mattered more and that Iceland’s problems would not be solved by the European Union.

According to Sólveig Anna, the prime minister later lost faith that Iceland could deal with its problems independently. However, she said half the nation had not lost that faith and wanted to continue working to resolve the issues affecting the country.