Iceland’s EU vote creates setback for Brussels

Iceland’s rejection of renewed talks on European Union membership has created a setback for policymakers in Brussels seeking to make the bloc a centre for security and defence policy, mbl.is reports.

The result of Saturday’s referendum is interpreted this way in a Financial Times newsletter on European affairs, which says Icelanders voted with their “wallets”. EU membership has long been viewed as a route to economic benefits through development assistance and access to the bloc’s single market.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, the EU has placed greater emphasis on defence and said that the bloc’s defences can withstand external threats.

The referendum is described partly as a response to US President Donald Trump’s threats towards Greenland and his unpredictable position on NATO. In the months before the vote, senior EU officials and diplomats from member states had discussed possible Icelandic membership as evidence that the union could attract wealthy but geographically vulnerable countries, rather than only poorer states in eastern Europe.

Instead, Icelanders chose to take their chances with NATO and Trump while retaining control over their fishing industry and “high-income economy”, and maintaining trade relations with the EU through membership of the European Economic Area.

“They feel secure under NATO’s protection. We have a good bilateral defence agreement with the United States,” Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir is quoted as saying.

“This is a great lesson for me and the government, and the conclusion is that people are happy with the EEA agreement. They are happy with the current relationship with the EU,” she said.

Potential impact on other countries unclear

The newsletter refers to remarks made in February by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. She said the EU would “strengthen itself” in defence and create “new cooperation in security matters” with key partners such as Iceland, while highlighting the bloc’s mutual defence provisions as a central part of membership.

Some officials had already begun describing Iceland’s planned application for EU membership as an incentive for other NATO countries, such as Norway. It remains unclear, however, how Iceland’s rejection could affect other potential applications.