Iceland's EU referendum hangs in the balance as early voting begins
On August 29 Icelanders vote on whether to resume the EU membership negotiations suspended in 2013 amid a dispute over fishing rights; early voting began on July 27. Polls suggest the question of reopening talks is finely balanced, while a clearer majority remains opposed to membership itself, and any eventual accession agreement would require a second referendum. Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir, chair of the largest opposition party, the centre-right Independence Party, is urging European politicians to stay out: "People should just let Icelanders go through this without foreign influences." The vote fulfils a pledge by Kristrún Frostadóttir's three-party coalition, and it comes as Brussels tries to revive enlargement towards Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans.