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The European Commission has issued a muted reaction after Iceland rejected the reopening of accession negotiations with the bloc in a hotly contested referendum, a decision that risks dampening the momentum on enlargement.
The vote came down to the wire: 52.8% chose “no” and 47.2% chose “yes”.
“The European Commission takes note of the outcome of Iceland’s referendum,” a Commission spokesperson said in a brief statement.
“The Commission respects the choice of the Icelandic people. Iceland remains a close partner of the European Union.”
Meanwhile, European Council President António Costa exchanged messages with Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir during which “both leaders expressed their desire to continue to strengthen the relationship between the EU and Iceland”, according to Costa’s spokesperson.
“President Costa stressed that the EU fully respects the democratic choice of the Icelandic people in today’s referendum. Iceland remains one of the EU’s closest and most trusted partners,” the spokesperson said.
Frostadóttir had previously said she would abandon the matter of EU membership entirely for the remainder of her term if voters rejected the proposal.
“47% of the population was interested in it,” Frostadóttir said on Sunday. “I think it is important that we go into the coming months and weeks and respect that point of view.”
Officials and diplomats in Brussels had seen in Iceland a five-star candidate that could have proven enlargement sceptics wrong. The Nordic country was all but guaranteed to become a frontrunner, given its extensive degree of integration with the bloc.
In the lead-up to the vote, the Commission, which oversees accession, had kept a low profile but signalled its intention to find “creative” solutions with Iceland to address what would have been the two most contentious issues: fisheries and agriculture.
Though Iceland enjoys broad access to the single market, the arrangement excludes the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Those two chapters were left untouched the last time that Reykjavík and Brussels engaged in accession talks, a process put on hold in 2013.
It remains to be seen how large an impact the Icelandic referendum will have on the bloc’s enlargement drive, which, after years of stagnation, jumped to the top of the political agenda in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Montenegro is the current frontrunner, having provisionally closed 18 of the 33 accession chapters. The country aspires to become the 28th member state in 2028, an ambition that has inspired the “28 by 28” slogan.
Even if Brussels refuses to commit to artificial deadlines, it recognises the importance of delivering on the promise of enlargement before candidates run out of patience. Coupling Montenegro with Iceland was considered a potential avenue.
The Commission is preparing reforms to bring tangible benefits to candidates, such as access to certain EU programmes, before they become full-time members.