Iceland eyes EU membership talks again as public support surges
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (Photo: facebook.com/thorgerdurkatrin)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, stated in an interview with Politico that Iceland has sufficient public support to resume negotiations on joining the European Union.
According to Gunnarsdóttir, resuming accession negotiations is "vital when it comes to the geopolitical situation," and she reminded that Iceland had advanced "pretty far into the negotiation process" in 2010–2013.
Politico reports that the current pro-European government has promised to hold a referendum on the resumption of accession negotiations by 2027.
In the same context, the foreign minister noted that she would like to "speed up the process" if the public supports the resumption of negotiations on accession, but acknowledged that issues such as fishing, agriculture, and energy will likely remain problematic in the future.
According to a poll conducted at the beginning of 2025:
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58% of Icelanders support the resumption of accession negotiations;
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45% support membership, 35% are "against," and 20% are "undecided."
Iceland’s EU accession
Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009. Negotiations continued until 2013, but as a result of changes in the country’s political situation, in 2015, Reykjavik officially ended the accession process, particularly due to strong public opposition and political disagreements over the benefits of membership.
As previously reported by the media, Iceland began considering strengthening its defense capabilities and resuming accession negotiations to the EU due to actions by the new US administration.
