Iceland Rejects EU Accession Talks, Keeping Its Half-In, Half-Out Status Quo

Icelanders voted 52.5% to 47.5% against resuming EU accession negotiations in an August 29 referendum, RUV reported. The result preserves Iceland's European Economic Area arrangement: single-market access without full EU membership, keeping control over fisheries and currency policy — the sovereignty issues that anchored opposition. The referendum asked whether to reopen talks, not whether to join outright.