Iceland’s government announced Friday it will hold a public vote on August 29 to decide whether the country should restart negotiations for European Union membership, accelerating a commitment to conduct the referendum by 2027 amid growing global tensions.
The Nordic island nation walked away from EU membership discussions in 2013 after four years of negotiations. However, recent polling indicates renewed public interest in joining the European bloc, driven by increasing living expenses and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The urgency surrounding EU membership has intensified following repeated statements from U.S. President Donald Trump about potentially annexing Greenland, which sits between Iceland and the United States. This has heightened concerns for the North Atlantic nation of nearly 400,000 residents.
According to public broadcaster RUV, Foreign Minister Katrin Gunnarsdottir announced at a news conference that the government reached a unanimous decision on the referendum proposal.
Should voters approve restarting membership talks, any final agreement reached with the European Union would then face a separate public vote on actual membership in the bloc.
