Iceland's August 29 Referendum Could Open EU Door for Montenegro Too

Iceland will hold a referendum on August 29 in which citizens will decide whether the country should reopen EU membership negotiations, frozen since 2013. According to a Politico report citing European officials and diplomats, if Icelanders vote to proceed, the country and Montenegro could become EU members at the same time.

A "yes" vote wouldn't mean automatic membership — it would only open the path to negotiations, after which a second referendum would be needed for final accession. Still, the very possibility of Iceland and Montenegro joining "as a package" is already drawing attention in Brussels.

Why Iceland Is Changing Course

Iceland halted EU negotiations in 2013 after a Euroskeptic government took power. Thirteen years later, a combination of rising living costs, the war in Ukraine and broader global uncertainty has shifted public opinion toward supporting membership. The country is already part of the European Economic Area and the Schengen zone, meaning it has already adopted much of EU law — a factor European diplomats see as an opportunity for negotiations to move quickly if voters approve moving forward.

The Montenegro Connection

EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said negotiations with Iceland could take just one to two years if the referendum passes. That timeline happens to align with Montenegro's current stage — the region's leading candidate for membership, which recently closed another negotiating chapter. According to diplomatic sources, Brussels is open to the idea of the two countries — one a wealthy Nordic nation, the other Balkan — joining the EU at the same moment.

For Macedonia, whose own European path remains fully stalled without a single chapter opened, developments in Iceland and Montenegro serve as a reminder that EU enlargement isn't entirely frozen — just not always moving in the direction one might expect.

MKNews Hub · World · August 21, 2026