Brussels, Belgium. Iceland’s Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir said she is optimistic Iceland could join the European Union as early as 2028 if membership negotiations resume. She said fisheries and agriculture are expected to be the toughest points of negotiation.
Referendum proposed on resuming negotiations
The Icelandic government has proposed holding a referendum on August 29 on resuming EU membership negotiations. Reykjavik froze the process in 2013 when a more Eurosceptic government took power.
Gunnarsdottir, speaking in an interview in Brussels, said, “We have seen that it’s beneficial to have a voice at the table.”
Fisheries, agriculture and labour market cited as key issues
If voters opt to restart talks, she said fisheries would likely be the most difficult discussion, citing past disagreements with the EU over fishing quotas affecting a key part of Iceland’s economy.
She said any new talks should focus on difficult issues such as fisheries, agriculture and the labour market at the start.
“If we do that, then I’m pretty optimistic then we will be, before the end of the year 2028, a member of the European Union,” she said.
Background and factors renewing interest
Iceland, with nearly 400,000 people, is a founding member of NATO and is already part of the European single market and the Schengen open-border travel zone.
Polls have shown that a rise in the cost of living and Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine have renewed Iceland’s interest in joining the bloc. Repeated threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to annex Greenland, located between Iceland and the United States, have also put a spotlight on possible EU membership.
“Iceland is there in the middle, a kind of link between those two continents,” she said.
Would you support restarting EU membership negotiations in the proposed August 29 referendum?