A total of 52.8% voted against resuming negotiations, compared with 47.2% who backed the proposal, according to final results reported by Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV.

Turnout reached 82.5%, one of the highest levels recorded in the country in recent years.

The result does not represent a direct rejection of EU membership. Icelanders were instead being asked whether their government should restart negotiations with Brussels that were suspended more than a decade ago.

Had the Yes campaign won, talks could have begun before the end of 2026 and were expected to take around 18 to 24 months. Any eventual agreement to join the EU would then have been put before Icelandic voters in a second referendum.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, whose Social Democratic Alliance supported reopening negotiations, said the government would respect the result and would not pursue accession talks during its current term.

She described the high turnout as a victory for democracy rather than as a political setback.

Reykjavík backs talks

Support varied considerably across the country.

Reykjavík backed reopening negotiations, with support reaching between 55% and 58% in the capital’s constituencies, while opposition was around 60% across rural Iceland.

The result leaves Iceland outside the EU but still closely integrated with Europe.

The country belongs to the European Economic Area alongside Norway and Liechtenstein, giving it access to much of the EU single market. It is also part of the Schengen Area and the European Free Trade Association.

Iceland first applied for EU membership in 2009 following the financial crisis. Negotiations began the following year, but were suspended in 2013 after a Eurosceptic government came to power.

Fishing has long been one of the most difficult issues in Iceland’s relationship with the EU. The industry is critical to the country’s economy, and opponents of membership have raised concerns about yielding control over fishing quotas and marine resources.

More recently, however, the debate has broadened beyond economics.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, growing tensions in the Arctic and US President Donald Trump’s repeated interest in taking control of neighbouring Greenland have renewed questions over the security of smaller European nations.

Iceland is a founding member of NATO but is the alliance’s only member without a standing army. It also maintains a bilateral defence agreement with the United States.

Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, who supported restarting EU negotiations, had argued ahead of the referendum that growing international instability made Iceland’s relationship with Europe increasingly important.

For now, however, voters have chosen to retain the country’s existing European arrangements rather than reopen the question of membership.

The government has confirmed that accession negotiations will not resume during its current term, with Iceland’s next general election required by November 2028.