Iceland’s EU referendum debate won’t tear the country apart, according to Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir. Speaking publicly on the question of whether Iceland should formally apply for European Union membership, she expressed confidence that Icelanders can hold a referendum without the deep social fractures seen elsewhere in Europe — most notably in Brexit Britain.
Key takeaways
- PM Kristrún Frostadóttir believes an EU referendum won’t divide Icelandic society.
- Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009 but suspended talks in 2013 — the question has never fully gone away.
- A referendum, if held, would be Iceland’s first popular vote on EU membership.
- Public opinion in Iceland remains genuinely split, but the PM argues the debate can stay civil.
Living in Reykjavík, I can tell you the EU question comes up more than outsiders might expect — at dinner tables in Háaleiti, over kaffi on Laugavegur, in op-eds in Morgunblaðið. It’s not a fringe topic. Iceland is deeply embedded in the European economic system through the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen Area, yet it has stayed outside the EU itself, keeping control over its fisheries — a point that matters enormously here.
Frostadóttir leads the Social Democrats (Samfylkingin), a party that has historically favoured EU membership, so her comments carry political weight. But her focus, at least in public framing, is less on which side should win and more on the idea that Iceland’s political culture is mature enough to debate the question without splintering. That’s a meaningful claim in a country of just under 380,000 people, where political disagreements can feel personal fast.
Why the EU referendum debate matters now
Iceland’s original membership application dates to 2009, filed in the immediate aftermath of the financial crash — the Hrunið (the Collapse) — when joining the eurozone looked like a lifeline. Negotiations began but were suspended in 2013 after a change of government, and Iceland formally withdrew its application in 2015. Since then, the debate has simmered rather than boiled.
What has changed is the government. Frostadóttir’s coalition, which took office after the 2024 elections, includes parties willing to at least put the question to voters rather than bury it. A referendum would not automatically mean Iceland joins the EU — it would likely first ask whether to restart accession talks, a procedural step before any membership vote. Iceland’s government has confirmed discussions are ongoing about how such a process would work.
The fisheries issue remains the sharpest edge of the debate. Iceland’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gives it control over some of the richest fishing grounds in the North Atlantic, and EU membership would require renegotiating access under the Common Fisheries Policy. For coastal communities outside Reykjavík — in the Westfjords, on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, in Akureyri — that’s not an abstract policy concern. It’s livelihoods.
Frostadóttir’s argument, essentially, is that Icelanders are capable of weighing those real trade-offs without the debate curdling into the kind of identity-war tribalism that damaged British society after 2016. Whether she’s right is an open question. But it’s a more optimistic starting point than most EU debates get.
Frequently asked questions
Is Iceland currently in the EU?
No, Iceland is not an EU member. It is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen Area, which gives it access to the single market and passport-free travel, but it sits outside EU political structures and the euro. Iceland suspended its formal membership application in 2013 and withdrew it in 2015.
What would an Iceland EU referendum actually decide?
Most likely, a first referendum would ask Icelanders whether to restart accession negotiations — not whether to join outright. A separate vote on actual membership would follow if talks concluded successfully. This two-step approach is designed to give voters a say at each stage of the process.
Why did Iceland apply for EU membership in the first place?
Iceland applied in 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, known locally as Hrunið (the Collapse), when three major Icelandic banks failed and the króna collapsed. Joining the EU and adopting the euro was seen by some as a route to economic stability. When the economy recovered faster than expected, political support for membership faded.
