Iceland to hold referendum on joining EU a decade after abandoning membership talks.

Extract from ABC News

By Rachel Wearmouth, with wires

• Topic:World Politics

1 hours ago

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir says Iceland will hold a referendum on EU accession.  (AFP: Wojtek Radwanski)

In short:

Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir has said her country will hold a referendum on joining the EU.

Speaking at a press conference in Poland, she confirmed the vote would take place in the coming months.

Reykjavík in 2013 abandoned EU membership talks after four years of negotiations, but a rise in the cost of living and the ongoing war in Ukraine in recent years rekindled the island nation's interest in joining the bloc.

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Iceland will in the next few months hold a referendum on joining the European Union, the country's prime minister has said.

Speaking at a press conference in Poland, Kristrún Frostadóttir appeared to suggest plans for a plebiscite in the Nordic European state on joining the trading bloc would be brought forward.

"Over the next few months, we will be working to prepare for the referendum, a referendum on the possible reopening of accession negotiations with the European Union," she told reporters after holding a meeting with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Reykjavík in 2013 abandoned EU membership talks after four years of negotiations, but a rise in the cost of living and the ongoing war in Ukraine in recent years rekindled the island nation's interest in joining the bloc, polls have shown.

The country's governing coalition had been expected to hold a vote on reopening accession talks in 2027.

It would mark the latest chapter in the EU's likely enlargement, with the Western Balkan state Montenegro steadily progressing toward joining in 2028.

Brussels has also been drawing up plans for Ukraine to secure partial membership in the coming years.

It comes amid a backdrop of geopolitical turmoil, following Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Donald Trump expressing a desire for the US to annex Greenland and the US's blitz of tariffs.

'More than happy'

Iceland participates in the EU's single market as part of the European Economic Area (EEA) but is not a full member, with public opinion often divided on fisheries policy.

It is also a full member of the Schengen Area, which allows for the free movement of people from Europe.

Ms Frostadóttir, speaking in Warsaw, said she discussed with her Polish counterpart Iceland retaining its Arctic identity within the EU.

Mr Tusk, who has previously served as president of the European Council and led negotiations on Britain's exit from the bloc, said he would be "more than happy" to see Iceland join, adding the bloc may need to "be more flexible" in talks to make it happen.

ABC/wires