Leaders of all four opposition parties in the Icelandic parliament, Alþingi, will be submit a parliamentary resolution today, requesting that a national referendum on continued accession talks with the European Union be held on September 26.
The resolution, submitted by Árni Páll Árnason, leader of the Social Democratic Alliance, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, leader of the Left-Green Movement, Guðmundur Steingrímsson, leader of Bright Future, and Birgitta Jónsdóttir, leader of the Pirate Party, suggest the following question for the ballot:
“Would you like Iceland to resume talks with the EU with the goal of the nation approving or rejecting the completed accession agreement?” Voters would have the option of ticking ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
“These parties have decided to jointly propose that the matter be voted on by the nation,” Katrín told ruv.is. “We are demanding, of course, that it will happen soon because it is being discussed now.”
“It’s very important that we learn about the position of all parties in Alþingi on whether their intent to have the nation vote on the matter, as they said before the last election, is real,” Katrín added, referencing the campaign promise of the Independence Party and Progressive Party—the now ruling coalition—that a referendum would be held on continued EU talks.
The government’s letter to the EU, stating that talks had been terminated, and Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson’s report on the subject were debated until midnight in parliament yesterday.
The debate will continue today.
