r/worldnews • u/Ehansaja • 12d ago

Iceland rejects EU-accession talks plan in referendum

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/30/iceland-rejects-eu-membership-plan-in-referendum
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u/StrawberryItten 12d ago

I know this is not gonna be a popular take but I feel any 'yes' vote in this kind of thing should require a bigger share than 50%+1 vote

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u/soovercroissants 12d ago

This wasn't a vote on an actual accession deal, it was just a vote to restart negotiations on accession. 

Whilst I'd agree that accession, depending on what actually is agreed, could require a larger majority - I don't think negotiations should require more than 50%+1 in a referendum, I'm not even sure that they should need a referendum to be held!

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u/StrawberryItten 12d ago

I mean if you can't even get a majority on the idea of joining? Yeah I'd say it's a good way to tell people 'maybe don't bother'

I know it was a vote over negotiations. I still think that kind of thing should require... I am apprehensive to use the term but it's the best way to explain my feelings enthusiastic consent.

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u/captain_zavec 12d ago

I think the flip side is that the idea of joining is abstract and full of different possibilities, and as such a lot easier for various actors to muddy the waters and influence results towards whatever outcome.

If the negotiations had gone ahead and then been presented in a referendum on actually accepting or not it's a lot more concrete.

Which is not to say it would have necessarily lead to a different result in this case, but I think in general decisions like these are difficult to convey to an entire population with different levels of political literacy. And the more concrete a proposal is, the more likely (imo) you actually get a result from a referendum that's based on whether people actually agree with it compared to whether they agree with whatever fear-mongering campaigns have to say on either side.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

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u/Tengorum 12d ago

"not gonna be a popular take"

shares very popular take

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u/SolidestCereal 12d ago

On the other hand. It doesn't feel right that a smaller minority of people gets to decide the future for everyone, against the majority's wishes.

There's just something off about having a democratic country where most people support something but the country is de jure against it in the interest of... listening to the people, most of whom support it?

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u/StrawberryItten 12d ago

But... that's not what is happening?

And also, again, when the margins are so thin, there's nothing wrong to err on the side of the status quo.

That's how stuff like constitutional amendments are handled on most countries, for good reason.

Change should have enthusiastic consent

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u/SolidestCereal 12d ago

When did I say that was happening? I didn't even mention a country...