Iceland poll flips to 51.6% against reviving EU membership talks
What's next: Voters go to the polls Aug. 29 on whether to reopen accession talks, with any membership deal requiring a second referendum.
A new Gallup poll showed Icelandic voters narrowly opposing a restart of European Union accession talks just before the country’s Aug. 29 referendum on the issue. The survey, conducted Aug. 24-27 among 4,583 people, found 51.6% against reopening negotiations with Brussels and 48.4% in favor. That marked a reversal from a Maskina poll reported earlier this week by Visir, which had support for talks at 51.3%. The referendum is not a vote on joining the EU itself. Any eventual accession deal would still need approval in a second referendum. Iceland ended membership talks in 2013 after a Eurosceptic government took office, but higher living costs and Russia’s war in Ukraine have revived debate over closer EU ties.