Iceland Picks Earlier Date for Referendum on EU Entry Talks

Most polls over the past few years have put Iceland's support for EU membership at around or just over 40%.

Photographer: Martin Bertrand/Getty Images

Iceland will bring forward to August a referendum to lay the groundwork for potentially joining the European Union at a later date as the island nation forges a closer relationship with Europe.

Icelanders will cast ballots on Aug. 29 to say whether membership talks with the EU should be reopened, Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir said in a news conference in Reykjavik on Friday.