Icelandic citizens rejected Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir's government's efforts to resume accession negotiations with the European Union in a referendum, RUV reported. Voters chose to preserve full sovereignty and protect the key fishing sector over promises of economic stability or entry into the eurozone.

The decision is a disappointment for Brussels, which had viewed the island nation of 400,000 as an ideal candidate for strengthening security in the strategic Arctic region.

The government promoted membership as a safeguard against geopolitical uncertainties, with supporters pointing in particular to the possibility of lowering high interest rates and inflation. The opposition, however, argued that economic problems should be addressed by domestic politicians, and that EU membership would, in the long term, jeopardize control over Icelandic waters.

Although Iceland first applied for membership in 2009 and suspended negotiations in 2013, the prime minister said this referendum has now definitively settled the question of integration, at least for now.

(Reuters, max)