Six years of opposition to EU membership

Every opinion poll published in Iceland in the last six years has shown that a majority of Icelanders oppose membership of the European Union (EU).

One has to go back to late 2008 to find a poll which showed majority support for EU membership among Icelanders.

The two sides polled almost even by early 2009 and, in July of that year, the Icelandic government applied for EU membership. By this stage, however, the ‘no’ camp had begun to take the advantage.

The latest Gallup poll published earlier this month shows that 50.1% of Icelanders are opposed to joining the EU, 34.2% are in favour, while 15.6% are undecided (825 respondents).

Taking into account only those respondents having taken a stance, opposition to EU membership sits at 59.4%, with support at 40.6%.