From Iceland — Icelanders Warming Up To EU

Icelanders Warming Up To EU

Published March 11, 2011

While a razor-thin majority of Icelanders remain opposed to joining the European Union, the number of those opposed is shrinking, while the number of those in favour is increasing.
Eyjan reports on the results of the latest Capacent poll on the subject, which shows that 50.5% of Icelanders are against their country joining the EU, while 31.4% support accession. 18.1% said they were neither in favour of joining the EU nor opposed.
However, these numbers paint a whole other picture when placed in the context of the previous poll, taken in early February. At that time, 60% were against joining the EU while 24.5% were in favour.
When brought directly to the question of whether they would vote Yes or No on a referendum to join the EU, 61% said they would vote against it, while 39% said they would vote in favour. In the previous poll, 30.5% said they would vote for joining the EU.
Many Icelanders are sceptical of the EU, primarily over fishing territory and agricultural issues. The Farmers’ Association of Iceland has been one of the largest anti-EU lobbies in the country, and continues to have influence.

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