From Iceland — Most Icelanders Want EU Accession Talks Continued

Most Icelanders Want EU Accession Talks Continued

Published October 16, 2013

The majority of Icelanders believe Iceland should continue accession talks with the European Union.
Vísir reports that, according to a poll conducted by Maskína, 52% of Icelanders want accession talks to resume, while 35% want them ended altogether. 14% said they wanted the current pause in accession talks to be extended.
Icelanders living in the capital area were the most likely to want accession talks to continue, while those living in the countryside were generally opposed, with the greatest opposition in the Northwest district. Two-thirds said they supported a national referendum on continuing accession talks, while one-third were opposed.
At the same time, barely 51% of Icelanders said they were opposed to Iceland joining the EU, while 28% supported accession. Those who self-identified as Social Democrats were most likely to support accession while Progressives were mostly likely to oppose it.
Accession talks with the EU were paused by the previous Social Democrat-Leftist-Green coalition in anticipation of parliamentary elections. The current Independence Party-Progressive coalition has extended that pause.

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