A question of sovereignty
The key theme looming over the Icelandic referendum is sovereignty. But it’s an issue that cuts two ways, and polls suggest the referendum is on a knife-edge. A Gallup poll in mid-August gave the “Yes” camp a wafer-thin advantage, with 51.5 percent support.
While “Yes” campaigners like Eggertsson stress the regional implications of threats to Greenland’s sovereignty, the “No” camp argues the EU could impinge on Icelandic sovereignty, particularly within the politically crucial spheres of fisheries and farming policy.
Indeed, it was fisheries quotas that were key to scuppering Iceland’s previous bid to join the EU, which was definitively halted in 2015.
Thirty-five-year-old musician Tumi Árnason says he will vote “yes” in the referendum. He’s worried about the international situation the country finds itself in. | Carlo Martuscelli/POLITICO
Eiríkur Bergmann, a professor of politics at Bifröst University, explained that national sovereignty has been the core issue animating political debate in Iceland since its independence from Denmark in 1944.
“There are two camps, both tapping into the same heritage,” said Bergmann. “One is arguing that Iceland needs to join the European Union to enhance its sovereignty and guard its heritage of its independence struggle. Another camp, equally vocal, is cautioning against EU membership on the exact same grounds, arguing that it threatens Iceland’s sovereignty.”
Those sentiments on national independence and identity have a long pedigree. Iceland’s parliament, the Althing, is one of the oldest electoral assemblies in the world, dating back more than a millennium.