ICELAND-EU-REFERENDUM-REFERENDA-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY-FISHING

A worker processes Atlantic cod at the VSV fish processing facility in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands), Iceland, on August 26, 2026. Fishing, a pillar of Iceland's economy and an integral part of its national identity, is a key topic of debate of the country's referendum on whether to resume European Union membership negotiations, suspended in 2013. On the Westman Islands, a major fishing hub in the south of the country, opinions have long been clear: the answer is 'No' -- even though the vote is only about resuming negotiations, not about membership itself. (Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP via Getty Images)