Fishing and concerns about maintaining control over national resources were among the main reasons that led to the victory of the “No” camp in the Icelandic referendum on resuming negotiations for accession to the European Union.
Icelanders have rejected the resumption of negotiations with Brussels with 52.8% of the votes, while 47.2% voted in favor of them. The difference was only a few percent, but enough for the government to have to give up, at least for the moment, the plan to reopen discussions on accession, notes Politico.
In the “No” camp, the atmosphere was optimistic even before the announcement of the first results. “We will win,” declared Salma Björk Önnudóttir, one of the campaign coordinators, and the final result confirmed her anticipation.
The campaign against resuming negotiations focused particularly on the idea of sovereignty. For many voters, the approach to the European Union raised questions about the possibility of Iceland losing some control over decisions considered essential for the country.
Fishing, however, was one of the most important themes of the campaign. The sector represents a pillar of the Icelandic economy, and warnings that EU membership could affect control over fishing quotas and allow foreign companies greater access to Icelandic waters had a strong impact on the electorate.
“For the ‘No’ camp, everything boiled down to a single issue,” says Hallgrímur Oddsson, founder of the European think tank Evrópustraumar. “Icelandic fishing and how it would integrate into the Common Fisheries Policy, where decisions are shared with 27 other countries.”
Before the referendum, the European Union had signaled that it was willing to take into account the peculiarities of Iceland in the field of fishing. However, the messages from Brussels failed to sufficiently change the voters’ perception.
A portion of those who voted “No” lacked confidence that Iceland could secure favorable terms in potential negotiations with the EU. For others, opposition to joining is a matter of principle, regardless of the conditions that could be negotiated.
The arguments of the “Yes” camp failed to counter these fears. Supporters of resuming negotiations pointed out that Iceland is already part of the European Economic Area and applies numerous European rules without participating in the decision-making process in the same way as member states.
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