Eiríkur Bergmann

“The 'Yes' side lost because they ran a highly technical and, frankly, passionless campaign.”

Eiríkur Bergmann · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-30

Eiríkur Bergmann evaluated why the campaign in favor of resuming EU negotiations fell short.

“What is perhaps most striking about this referendum is that despite the profound geopolitical upheaval around us – including rapidly shifting security paradigms in the North Atlantic – these global realities never really filtered properly through into the public debate,”

Eiríkur Bergmann · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-30

Eiríkur Bergmann discussed how geopolitical security issues failed to influence the referendum campaign.

“The 'No' side succeeded because it tapped into the most fundamental driver of Icelandic national identity: the demand for absolute self-governance. This is inextricably linked to control over natural resources and fisheries, which forms the very heart of the Icelandic understanding of sovereignty,”

Eiríkur Bergmann · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-30

Eiríkur Bergmann explained why Icelandic voters chose to reject resuming EU accession talks.

“Iceland's security and defense is guarded by our membership in NATO, but also, for many, more importantly, by a bilateral defense agreement with the U.S. since 1951. Now many people are sort of reconsidering the validity of that defense agreement,”

Eiríkur Bergmann · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-28

Bergmann discussed how Icelanders are reconsidering the validity of the bilateral U.S. defense agreement.

“All of the arguments put forth by the U.S. president for why it would be necessary for the U.S. to acquire Greenland actually equally applied to Iceland. The only difference is that Iceland is formally an independent country,”

Eiríkur Bergmann · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-28

Bergmann commented on how Trump's arguments for acquiring Greenland could equally apply to Iceland.