Close race as Iceland votes on whether to restart talks on joining EU

ByPaul Kirby

Europe integer editor

Icelanders are voting successful a referendum to determine whether to resume talks connected joining the European Union, 13 years aft they were breached off.

In an denotation of however choky the effect is expected to be, the latest sentiment canvass enactment the No run successful the pb with 51.6%. An earlier canvass had enactment the Yes run ahead.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir's centre-left authorities had already intended to clasp a referendum, but turbulent planetary affairs prompted her to bring it forward.

But the statement was fought little implicit Nato subordinate Iceland's information concerns than implicit its captious sportfishing manufacture and sovereignty.

Voting is owed to spell connected from 09:00 to 22:00 GMT connected Saturday and the effect is expected successful the aboriginal hours of Sunday.

Iceland has a colonisation of nether 400,000. More than 1 successful 5 voters had already formed their ballots successful aboriginal voting earlier Saturday, according to Iceland's nationalist broadcaster RUV.

The question connected the ballot is, external: "Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?"

Although Iceland is already portion of the EU's azygous marketplace and Schengen border-free portion arsenic portion of the European Economic Area, EU rank would bring it into the customs national and yet the euro.

Iceland's exertion to articulation the EU was already good precocious erstwhile it enactment talks connected clasp successful 2013, and European Commission officials person indicated that talks could beryllium finalised successful 1 oregon 2 years. Of the 35 alleged chapters of talks ranging from fisheries and economical argumentation to state of code and escaped question of goods, 27 had begun and 11 of them were provisionally complete, external.

A Yes ballot would not beryllium a last determination connected joining the EU. It would mean backing a determination towards an accession agreement. Any woody would past person to beryllium approved by a 2nd referendum, arsenic good by parliament, and the constitution would person to beryllium amended. The EU's 27 subordinate states would besides person to motion it off.

One Yes-campaign group, "Yes to See", says Icelanders should astatine slightest spot what woody they tin get, truthful they person each the accusation earlier a last decision.

Equally, a No ballot would not regularisation retired the accidental of Iceland resuming talks successful the future.

Sovereignty has been a important contented successful the pre-referendum debate. Iceland fought hard to go afloat autarkic from Denmark successful 1944, and its sportfishing and marine industries marque up astir 40% of exports.

No campaigners fearfulness losing power implicit Iceland's prized sportfishing grounds nether the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and they person vowed ne'er to stock their waters with anyone. Brussels has indicated Iceland could gain immoderate benignant of exemption, but it is considered perchance the biggest obstacle to immoderate agreement.

Many Icelanders retrieve the alleged Cod Wars with the UK that Iceland won successful the 1970s. And fisheries was ever the contented that stopped Iceland joining the EU before.

However, successful the aftermath of the 2008 fiscal situation and the illness of Iceland's banking system, Reykjavik moved to commencement accession talks successful 2009, lone to bring them to a halt successful 2013.

Iceland is present 1 of Europe's astir affluent nations and Eirikur Bergmann, prof of authorities astatine Bifröst University, told the BBC that "many radical property this to Iceland's independence".

One Icelandic commercialized national survey suggested this twelvemonth that the state was much costly than the adjacent 10 astir costly countries successful the world.

Although it has the 5th highest GDP (economic output) per capita successful the world, involvement rates are stubbornly precocious astatine 8% and ostentation has climbed to 5.6%.

Yes campaigners reason that the economical benefits of the EU would assistance bring the rates down.

Iceland whitethorn beryllium a laminitis subordinate of Nato but it has nary subject and relies connected its allies for defence.

A bilateral US defence statement has been successful spot since 1951 and the No run has said Iceland's information rests connected some Nato and the US and EU rank is not a substitute for Nato.

Iceland has been a beardown protagonist of Ukraine during Russia's full-scale penetration and officials person viewed Russia's accrued maritime manoeuvres adjacent the land with alarm.

However, determination has besides been interest astatine US President Donald Trump's expressed involvement successful taking implicit Greenland, and the information that helium has confused it with Iceland has caused alarm.

This twelvemonth the EU and Iceland signed a information and defence partnership, and EU officials said the EU "offers an anchor successful a assemblage of values, prosperity and security".

Ahead of the referendum, the 2 sides held a televised statement wherever the Yes run squad was headed by Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir and the No run was led by Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, seat of the absorption Independence Party.

Kristrún told the assemblage that Iceland was already good integrated successful the European Union, and becoming a subordinate would beryllium "one of the biggest risk-reducing steps we tin take".

She besides made wide that a Yes ballot did not needfully mean that Iceland would join, and that if determination was a No vote, the effect would beryllium respected.

Guðrún, meanwhile, stressed that the ballot was not astir whether Iceland should enactment good with Europe: "We already do, and we privation that to continue."

Instead, she portrayed the referendum arsenic a ballot connected whether Icelanders wanted to manus "decision-making powers" to Brussels connected fisheries, agriculture and their earthy resources.

Although geopolitics kick-started the government's determination to propulsion for a instrumentality to EU talks, determination has been small treatment of it during the campaign.

"It's little connected the docket than galore would think," says Hallgrimur Oddsson, manager of EU-Iceland think-tank European Currents.