The Stream

Icelanders demand a say in EU membership

Thousands are protesting the government for breaking its promise to allow citizens a vote on EU accession.

Twenty-one per cent of Iceland’s voting population have signed a petition calling for a referendum on the country’s EU membership application. The approximately 51,000 signers are upset with the ruling parties —the Progressive Party and the Independence Party — which made campaign promises last year to hold a plebiscite, but have since retracted the application. The decision sparked protests, which have entered their third week in a row. 

On Saturday, some 2,000 people gathered in Austurvöllur Square outside the parliament in Reykjavík asking for a popular vote. Netizens posted pictures of the protests using #vor14, which translates “spring14”.