Members of Parliament voted on the referendum proposal today.
mbl.is/Anton Brink
Members of Parliament recently voted on a proposed referendum regarding the resumption of Iceland’s European Union accession talks. The proposal was approved with 34 votes in favor and 8 against, while 14 MPs abstained.
The issue has been debated in Parliament in recent days, with members of the Center Party particularly prominent. They were the only speakers registered during yesterday’s parliamentary session, which continued late into the night.
Three opposition amendments were rejected today. They proposed delaying the vote, changing the wording of the referendum question, and providing the public with information about Iceland’s negotiating objectives before the referendum.
Unless changes are made, the referendum will take place on August 29.
The opposition criticized the process
Opposition MPs took the floor before the vote and criticized the government’s handling of the matter.
“This parliamentary proposal has been a mess from start to finish, both in its preparation and in the way it was presented to Parliament without the legally required consultation before being brought forward for debate,” said Sigríður Á. Andersen, parliamentary leader of the Center Party.
“Reminiscent of past mistakes”
Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, leader of the Independence Party, said the government had introduced the proposal without a clear mandate and without broad consensus.
“This uncomfortably recalls the mistakes of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Össur Skarphéðinsson when the Left-Green Movement was drawn into a project that was doomed to fail from the outset, and the outcome was exactly as expected,” she said.
Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, chairman of the Center Party, argued that the issue had been driven by appearances rather than substance and that voters had not been clearly informed about what a “yes” vote in August would actually mean.
The government defended the proposal
Several government MPs also spoke in support of reopening EU accession talks.
“Now we will see whether we have the courage to look ahead and trust our nation to make its own decision about the future of our country,” said Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir.
She said the matter was a clear policy objective serving the public interest and argued that Icelanders should open doors rather than close them.
“We are a small nation, but we have never achieved success by thinking small. On the contrary, we have thought big. We did so when we joined NATO, EFTA, and the EEA Agreement—each of them successful steps taken in the interest of the nation.”
“Don’t say no, say maybe, maybe, maybe”
Pawel Bartoszek, MP for the Liberal Reform Party, expressed a similar view.
“I support this referendum, I support negotiations, and it is no secret that I support Iceland joining the European Union,” he said.
Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, Minister of Industries and MP for
the Liberal Reform Party
described the day as a cause for celebration, saying a major step was being taken in the public interest.
“A step that will allow the nation to decide whether to explore the opportunities that EU membership may offer. We in the Liberal Reform Party have always been clear that the people should decide, and I believe the nation will vote yes at the end of August.”
Dagur B. Eggertsson, MP for the Social Democratic Alliance, said he was convinced that adopting a new currency was the most important economic issue facing Icelandic households.
“And I remind you of the tune: Don’t say no, say maybe, maybe, maybe,” Eggertsson said.
