Majority Of Icelanders Still Against EU Accession

The majority of Icelanders are against joining the European Union, and poll demographics show a clear class and political divide on the issue.

According to a new poll from Market and Media Research, 51.4% of respondents were opposed or very opposed to Iceland joining the EU. At the same time, only 27.1% said they were supportive or very supportive of accession. Meanwhile, 21.5% had no strong opinions on the matter.

Over the past year, polls taken on this subject have shown that while support for accession has declined, both opposition and ambivalence to accession have risen.

In terms of demographics, opposition to accession increased with the age of the respondents, but declined with income level.

Those who support the ruling coalition of the Progressives and the Independence Party were far more likely to oppose accession than those who do not support the coalition. Likewise, voters for coalition parties had much greater levels of opposition to accession than other parties, but only Social Democrat voters showed significant levels of support for joining the EU.

Iceland is no longer on the list of nations seeking to become a part of the EU. Accession was a platform of the previous government, but the current ruling coalition – or, specifically, former Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson – put an end to the bid.