Iceland rejects potential EU membership talks

(CN) — Iceland will not restart negotiations with the European Union on a path to join the bloc, as Icelanders weigh domestic concerns on fisheries and independence more than international geopolitical security following U.S. President Donald Trump’s Greenland takeover plans.That is the conclusion from observers and political science scholars, as an EU referendum vote count concluded Sunday at noon in the North Atlantic island, showing a nation closely split between yes and no sayers.“Given how narrow the gap is, it is extremely important that everyone’s position is respected. It is clear that 53% of the population does not want to take a bigger step now. But 47% were interested in it. We must go into the next few months and respect all points of view,” Iceland Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said Sunday afternoon.Despite belonging to the pro-EU coalition, Frostadóttir said it was positive to see the Icelandic debate on the EU referendum and for the government to resume existing agreements with the bloc with a stronger mandate.One disappointed voter is Kristín Guðjónsdóttir, who lives in the capital of Reykjavík. Although not completely convinced her country should join the EU, she saw potential in voting in favor of the referendum.“I voted yes because I have a 5-year-old son, who I am really voting for. I want to see what we could gain, or not, from joining the EU before making the final decision,” she told Courthouse News through a messaging app.Iceland, an island barely the size of Kentucky, sits at the GIUK gap, a strategic waterway chokepoint between the Atlantic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea, including maritime areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the United Kingdom.After nearing state bankruptcy during the global 2008 financial crisis, Iceland engaged in talks with the EU about becoming a member in 2009.Those talks paused in 2013 after a remarkable economic recovery fueled by a tourism boom and local worries over common fishery policies the EU insisted on continuing.The Atlantic island seeks to keep its fishing zones under Icelandic jurisdiction, as its fishing and marine industry accounts for close to 40% of all Icelandic exports. Local politicians had already vowed not to give the bloc power over common fishery policies, regardless of the election outcome.Despite the disagreement on fishery policies, Iceland is already deeply integrated into the EU bloc, as shown by its participation in the European Economic Area and its Schengen Area membership, which secures free movement on the continent.The island, with a population of just under 400,000, is a founding NATO member despite not having a military of its own.In modern history, the U.S. has maintained a strong military presence on the Atlantic island under a bilateral defense agreement since 1951, but with Trump’s latest remarks on the necessity of gaining full control over nearby Greenland, Iceland is starting to look toward the EU.Greenland, a semiautonomous nation within the Kingdom of Denmark, has declared its wish to remain in the realm while Trump’s wish to incorporate the biggest island in the world into the U.S. persists.The EU and some of its major members, such as France, are ramping up initiatives across a broad range of projects in the High North, with Greenland as the focal point that has sparked diplomatic tensions between the U.S. and Europe in recent years.While security concerns in the region have attracted much attention from international media, they have come second in Iceland but not completely aside in the debate surrounding the EU referendum vote. For some Icelanders, it was unclear what getting closer to the EU could mean.“I have found the discussion very confusing. I feel like there is a lot of half-truths going around and a lot of ‘Facebook specialists,’ meaning people who are very firm in either voting yes or no, spreading what they think is true or false. I think a lot of people are misunderstanding the vote and think we are voting on going into the EU or not,” said Guðjónsdóttir.At a media briefing organized by the Danish think tank Europa, Eirikur Bergmann, professor of politics at Bifröst University in Iceland, said the referendum debate showed no evidence of foreign intervention.The referendum debate has been closely monitored due to concerns about Russian or other foreign interference. Most misinformation that found way into the debate stems from domestic actors. The topic of conforming to the EU’s fishing policy especially weighed heavily.“There’s a lot of misinformation going around, and there are a lot of disinformation campaigns by domestic operators. Those campaigns attempt to confuse people, scare people. They are pretty dominant in the debate,” said Bergmann.The common consensus between Icelandic yes and no sayers is the prospect of protecting and developing Iceland’s economy, as an unstable currency, high interest rates and inflation are challenging residents.While the fishing issue was pushed forward from an economic standpoint to avoid EU membership, Iceland’s national identity was brewing in the background of the election.“It’s an existential question of where Iceland belongs. Iceland spent 130 years fighting for its independence from the Danes, finally becoming independent in 1944,” Bergmann said.That leaves Iceland with a need to demonstrate full autonomy over its territory without again surrendering to outside rule, the professor said.In a contradictory manner, Iceland’s political identity at the same time strives to gain recognition as an equal nation among others by fully participating as a dedicated member of a coalition within a family of states, Bergmann said.Both political flanks of Iceland’s yes and no supporters had already agreed beforehand to respect the EU referendum election result no matter the outcome.Courthouse News correspondent Lasse Sørensen is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads