Iceland EU referendum asks voters to restart talks

Icelanders are due to vote on August 29 on whether the country should resume accession negotiations with the European Union, in a referendum that would not decide membership itself.

Voters will answer yes or no to the question: “Should Iceland resume accession negotiations with the European Union?” If the yes side wins, any accession agreement negotiated with Brussels would be put to another referendum and would likely require a change to Iceland's constitution, as well as ratification by EU member states.

Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir supports a yes vote, saying negotiations would let Iceland see the terms before making a final decision. Opinion polls cited in the supplied information suggest voters are deeply divided.

Iceland applied to join the EU in 2009 after its banking and economic collapse. Membership negotiations began in 2010 but were suspended in 2013 after a eurosceptic government came to power.

The debate is shaped by economic and security concerns. Iceland has no military and relies on NATO and a 1951 bilateral agreement with the United States for defence. Bifrost University professor Eirikur Bergmann said recent geopolitical upheaval, including concern over Greenland, was affecting the debate.

Fishing is expected to be a central issue in any negotiations. Seafood products account for about 40 percent of Iceland's goods exports, and Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir has said Reykjavik would insist on keeping sovereign control over all fisheries.