Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Iceland is to hold a referendum on opening accession talks to join the European Union in “the next few months,” the country’s prime minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said (17:18).
Her comments appear to suggest the government will bring forward plans to organise the vote, previously rumoured to be planned for early 2027 (17:37).
In other news,
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán appeared to escalate his rhetoric towards Ukraine (14:32) as he made unsubstantiated claims alleging that Ukraine could be looking to disrupt its energy grid, and ordered soldiers to protect key energy facilities (12:54), just weeks before a closely contested parliamentary election in Hungary.
The two countries remain at odds over their views on what is blocking the use of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which continues to be affected by recent Russian strikes (12:54, 13:06, 13:12).
Separately,
German chancellor Friedrich Merz for deepening ties with China, while pushing for fairer trade rules between the two countries and seeking Chinese help on Ukraine as he continues his visit to the country (9:51, 11:56).
Switzerland and the European Union will next week sign a package of agreements aimed at simplifying and harmonising their ties, Berne and Brussels said (13:50).
The 76th Sanremo Italian song festival got under way last night at the iconic Ariston Theatre (12:37).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
The Icelandic referendum had previously been tipped for early 2027, so today’s comments from Frostadóttir appear to confirm some media reporting that the government will try to bring it forward.
The formal proposal – expected to be drafted early spring, according to local media – needs to be approved by the parliament first, after which there is a nine-month window for organising the actual vote.
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service said in January that two opinion polls appeared to indicate a narrow preference for joining the bloc, but with the margins so thin that it could go either way.
“Two opinion poll surveys in 2025 suggested slim majorities for those who favour EU membership. In one by Prósent, 45% of respondents said they supported Iceland’s accession to the European Union, while 35% said they did not. A Gallup survey from the same year suggested similar results, with 44% of respondents saying they favoured Iceland joining the European Union, and 36% saying they were opposed.”
Updated
