Overview
- Iceland's parliament is expected to set the referendum date within weeks, according to POLITICO's sources.
- The vote would determine whether to restart EU accession talks, accelerating a pledge to hold such a referendum by 2027.
- Recent U.S. tariffs on Iceland and provocative remarks about Greenland have sharpened the push to move faster, the reporting says.
- Given Iceland's EEA and Schengen alignment and 11 of 33 chapters previously closed, an EU official says talks could conclude quickly, though the timeline is uncertain.
- Significant hurdles remain, particularly fishing rights, coalition divisions and public ambivalence about membership, even as high-level EU-Iceland contacts have intensified.