Majority rejects EU membership

The majority of Icelanders are opposed to membership of the European Union (EU) according to a fresh opinion poll produced by Gallup for the organisation Já Ísland which favours membership. 59.1% oppose EU membership according to the poll while 40.9% are in favour.

The most support for EU membership comes from the highest earners, those with university education and voters of the Social Democratic Alliance ('Samfylkingin'). The most opposition comes from people aged 18-24 years, people older than 55 years and voters of the conservative Independence Party ('Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn') which is part of the current coalition government. Every opinion poll published in Iceland since August 2009 has had a majority against EU membership.

Meanwhile more people want to start fresh accession talks with the EU according to the new Gallup poll or 45.4% against 40.3% who reject that. However, support for further accession talks has decreased significantly since April 2015 when 51% wanted Iceland to remain an EU candidate.

Iceland applied for EU membership in July 2009. The application was put on hold after the 2013 general elections which produced a new center-right government. Last year the government announced to the EU that Iceland should no longer be considered a candidate for EU membership.