Dialogue movie: Iceland's parliament will not obstruct negotiations with the EU
Icelanders will decide on August 29 whether the country should resume negotiations on joining the European Union, which were halted more than a decade ago. The majority of parties in parliament are ready to ensure the continuation of the course of negotiations with the EU, its second deputy speaker Ingvar Thoroddsson told Izvestia. Even in the event of a positive result of the referendum, the government will have to solve problematic issues, primarily in the field of fisheries and agriculture. Joining the association may also narrow Iceland's ongoing cooperation with Russia, particularly in the Arctic, experts say.
Will Reykjavik be able to resume dialogue with the EU quickly
The referendum, which is taking place in Iceland on August 29, is consultative in nature, but the authorities promised to take into account the will of the voters. If the majority supports a return to negotiations with the EU, the Cabinet will take further steps. The Althing (parliament) may complicate this process, but such a scenario is unlikely, its second deputy speaker Ingvar Thoroddsson told Izvestia.
— Two of the three opposition parties have also stated that if "yes" wins, they will work with the government to achieve the best possible accession agreement. This is good news because it means that a significant majority in parliament will respect the result of the referendum. The third party, Miðflokkurinn (The Party of the Center. — Ed.), unfortunately, did not speak so unequivocally, — the politician noted.
The ruling coalition holds 35 of the 63 seats in the Althing. Another 19 seats belong to the Independence Party and the Progressive Party, which, according to Thoroddsson, are ready to work with the government. Together, these are 54 places. The Center Party has eight deputies, and one parliamentarian is not a member of any faction. If the EU supporters win the referendum, the government will discuss the situation with the Foreign Affairs committee and assemble a team to negotiate with Brussels.
Iceland hopes to continue the dialogue from where it left off in 2013. By the time of the freeze, the parties had discussed 27 of the 33 issues, and had already agreed on 11. Reykjavik can resume this conversation before the end of 2026 and complete it in one and a half to two years. The European Commission agrees with the deadlines, but has not yet promised that the old agreements will remain in force.
First, EU supporters need to win the referendum, but their advantage is shrinking. A Maskina poll from August 21-25 gave them 51.3% versus 48.7%. However, a recent Gallup poll on August 27 showed that opponents of the negotiations have already gained ground.
What Iceland will have to negotiate with Brussels
Even if the Icelanders support the resumption of dialogue, it will not be easy to reach an agreement with Brussels. The main controversial topics are fishing and agriculture. Opponents of membership fear that Iceland will lose control of its marine resources due to strict EU rules.
According to Alexander Sporshev, a lecturer at the Department of European and International Law at the UNN Faculty of Law, fishing is an issue of economic security for the country. The industry accounts for about 4% of GDP, and fish products account for about 35-40% of commodity exports. Therefore, Reykjavik firmly defends control over fishing zones and quotas.
On August 24, Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin announced that Iceland would maintain full control over its fisheries. The country plans to set quotas itself and prohibit foreigners from buying out local companies. At the same time, the European Commission has not yet guaranteed any special conditions to Reykjavik.
Iceland is already closely linked to the EU: it is a member of the Schengen Area and the European Economic Area, participates in the common market and lives by many laws of the union, but does not participate in their development.
What will the country's accession to the EU change for Russia
Reykjavik is seeking to return to negotiations primarily because of politics, says Nikita Belukhin, an expert at IMEMO RAS. In his opinion, due to the instability in relations between Europe and the United States, Iceland is looking for additional support not only in NATO, but also in the European Union. She has already taken a step in this direction when she signed a security and defense partnership agreement with the EU in March.
For Russia, the resumption of negotiations itself is unlikely to change anything: bilateral relations are still at an extremely low level. The Icelandic embassy in Moscow has been closed since August 2023, although Reykjavik has not officially severed diplomatic ties with the Russian Federation. In addition, Iceland continues to support all EU sanctions against Russia.
Cooperation between the two countries continues in only two areas — fishing and the Arctic. Russia and Iceland are still members of the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) and in December 2025 they jointly discussed fishing rules for 2026.
The states also remain members of the Arctic Council. After his work almost stopped in 2022, contacts began to recover: working groups communicate online, and in June 2026, Arctic diplomats held joint consultations for the first time in four years.
Further rapprochement with the EU, according to Nikita Belukhin, will bind Iceland more strongly to the union's common foreign and sanctions policy and reduce the space for independent maneuver.
Reykjavik is currently participating in the fisheries negotiations on its own, but in the future some of these issues will fall within the competence of the European Union, which will certainly affect the remaining ties with Moscow.
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