Icelanders to get a referendum on joining the EU

BBC -

Iceland’s newly elected government has called off talks with Brussels on EU membership and promised a referendum to give Icelanders their say.

Iceland applied to join the European Union in July 2009, a year after it suffered one of Europe’s worst financial crises.

Negotiations began nearly three years ago, but big sticking points remain.

Opinion polls suggest most Icelanders are now against joining. Centre-left parties lost last month’s election.

The two parties that emerged as winners - the centrist Progressive Party and the right-wing Independence Party - announced on Wednesday that they had agreed to form a government.

They also promised to freeze talks with Brussels until after the result of a referendum on EU membership.

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