As Icelanders say no to resuming EU talks, what issues weighed in the election?

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: islande REUTERS - Leonhard Foeger 04:25 Issued on: 31/08/2026 - 17:26 Iceland's voters rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union in a referendum that pitted concerns about geopolitical stability against keeping national control of Iceland’s prized fisheries. Talks with the EU to join the bloc had begun after the 2008 financial crisis but had been ended by a Eurosceptic government. But why did Icelanders say no? FRANCE 24's Armen Georgian tells us more. Keywords for this article