Iceland has voted against resuming EU membership negotiations in a referendum held yesterday, dealing a significant blow...

Iceland has voted against resuming EU membership negotiations in a referendum held yesterday, dealing a significant blow to Brussels' expansion ambitions. With counting nearly complete, the "No" side leads 52.5% to 47.5%, a margin of about five percentage points that appears insurmountable. State broadcaster RÚV declared the result, announcing that the country had rejected EU accession talks. The remaining uncounted ballots come from a single electoral district that already leaned toward "No," making a reversal virtually impossible. The EU had viewed Iceland's potential candidacy favorably and was reportedly prepared to make concessions to bring the country into its fold. That prospect is now off the table. Following the vote, any discussion of Icelandic EU membership is expected to be frozen until at least 2028. Iceland is already deeply integrated with Europe through its membership in the European Economic Area and the Schengen zone, giving it access to the single market without full EU membership. Yesterday's result suggests Icelanders prefer that arrangement to giving up further sovereignty. The vote is a rare setback for the EU's enlargement agenda at a time when the bloc has been actively courting new members. Iceland had previously opened and then suspended EU accession talks back in 2013. This referendum was meant to decide whether to restart those negotiations, not whether to join outright, making the decisive "No" even more striking. #Iceland #EU #EUEnlargement