Iceland PM announces EU referendum plans during Poland visit

Iceland will hold a referendum on joining the European Union in the coming months, Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir said at a press conference in Poland.

“Over the next few months, we will work on preparing a referendum on the possible reopening of accession negotiations with the European Union,” she said after a meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Reykjavik abandoned EU membership talks in 2013 after four years of negotiations, CE Report quotes HINA.

But rising living costs and the war in Ukraine in recent years have renewed interest among the island nation’s population in joining the bloc, according to polls.

Iceland is part of the Schengen Area as one of the four non-EU countries in it, and is also one of the founding members of NATO, established in 1949.

foto SIMON WOHLFAHRT