Iceland’s EU vote shows rich democracies see no benefit in joining | News In Depth

Icelanders have rejected reopening accession talks with the EU in a referendum held on Saturday. For the liberal-social democratic coalition, who campaigned for a “Yes” vote, it is certainly a blow. What about Brussels?

“It looks like EU membership is not popular within the populations which are wealthy, which are developed democracies, which have a comfortable lifestyle. These people are not interested,” said Marcin Zaborowski, TVP World’s Europe editor, contrasting Iceland with countries clamoring for EU membership like Moldova, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. “So this is disappointment for the EU. (...) It just doesn’t make the EU look like an attractive project, frankly.”

He points out that the last time the EU expanded to include rich, well-developed countries was in 1995, when Sweden, Finland, and Austria joined the bloc. Furthermore, he said that Iceland joining the EU could have swayed Norway to do the same, and since Iceland would probably also adopt the euro zone, it could also convince Denmark and Sweden, already EU members but who retained their national currencies, to do the same. In summary, the Icelandic referendum failed to deliver a boost in EU image that Brussels hoped for.

“Quite the opposite. It’s like a deflated balloon right now,” Zaborowski concluded.

Join News in Depth’s host, Marie Kato, and her guest as they explore how Iceland’s powerful fishing industry emerged as the decisive force behind the “No” vote, whether the country is truly getting the best of both worlds through its close relationship with the EU outside formal membership, and how future economic or geopolitical shocks could revive the debate over joining the bloc in the future.

Chapters:
00:00 Iceland rejects renewed EU accession talks
02:51 The EU’s disappointment and Iceland’s economic position
04:38 Fishing, sovereignty, and the “No” campaign
05:58 The benefits and constraints of Iceland’s relationship with the EU
08:00 Security and Iceland’s Atlanticist orientation
09:42 Implications for EU enlargement and the Nordic region
12:59 Economic arguments for and against EU membership
18:00 Prospects of reviving Iceland’s EU bid

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