Iceland rejects EU membership plan in referendum held under the shadow of Trump’s Greenland threats | CNN

Icelanders voted to stay out of the European Union, referendum results showed on Sunday, as they rejected a government push to reopen membership talks and sided with those who said Iceland’s fishing waters were too important to risk. The Arctic island of 400,000 people ​has debated whether to join the EU for well over a decade and had initially been expected to narrowly back holding membership talks, but opinion polls this month showed views had changed. Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told a press conference that Iceland would focus on strengthening its existing ties with the European Union through the European Economic Area agreement, which it shares ⁠with Norway and Liechtenstein. “A big lesson for me and also for the government is that people are happy with the EEA agreement,” she said. A European Commission spokesperson said it respected the choice of the Icelandic people and noted that Iceland remained a close partner of the European Union. Frostadottir now plans to call Norway’s prime minister, public broadcaster RUV reported. In Saturday’s referendum, 52.8% of ⁠ballots cast were against the government’s proposal to hold negotiations with Brussels, 47.