Icelanders will vote on 29 August 2026 on whether to resume EU accession negotiations. This question has returned to the political agenda under Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir's centre-left coalition government, more than a decade after Iceland withdrew its membership application in 2013.

As Russia’s war against Ukraine continues and global competition in the Arctic intensifies, Iceland finds itself at a strategic crossroads. Beyond the immediate security concerns surrounding the GIUK gap, the international rules-based order is increasingly contested. While Iceland’s security is guaranteed through NATO, the US retreat from Europe and rising uncertainty following US threats to invade or ‘buy’ Greenland have pushed Iceland closer to the EU, although fisheries remain a contentious issue.

This event will examine the outcome of the referendum and its implications for Iceland, the EU and the Arctic, with a particular focus on security and economic considerations. It takes place within the framework of the EPC’s Northern Europe Platform (NEP), which provides a forum for analysing developments in the Nordic, Baltic and Arctic region.

This event welcomes the participation of EPC members, media and EU officials.

For media enquiries, please contact media@epc.eu.

For other queries, please contact events@epc.eu