Icelanders Vote on EU Membership Amid Fishing Industry Fears

Icelanders are voting in a referendum to decide whether to resume talks on joining the European Union, 13 years after they were broken off.

The latest opinion polls have been so close that the result is impossible to call. A No campaign led by Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, chair of the opposition Independence Party, has a slim lead with 51.6% in the latest poll, while an earlier one had put the Yes campaign ahead.

The debate has focused on Iceland's vital fishing industry and sovereignty rather than security concerns. Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir's centre-left government brought forward the referendum due to turbulent international affairs.

A Yes vote would mean backing a move towards an accession agreement, which would then have to be approved by a second referendum and parliament, as well as being signed off by the EU's 27 member states. The No campaign fears losing control over Iceland's prized fishing grounds under the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.

Economic benefits of EU membership are also at play, with Yes campaigners arguing that they would help bring down stubbornly high interest rates and inflation.