00:00The message from Iceland's prime minister was clear.
00:03Standing beside her Polish counterpart in Warsaw,
00:07Kristrun Frosta-Dottir announced that Icelanders could vote on whether to reopen talks
00:12on joining the European Union sooner than previously expected.
00:16But in the coming months we are going to have a referendum on opening up the negotiations,
00:21the accession negotiations for Iceland of possibly joining the EU.
00:26Iceland abandoned EU membership talks in 2013 after four years of negotiations.
00:32But rising living costs, Russia's war in Ukraine,
00:36and threats by US President Donald Trump to annex neighboring Greenland have ignited debate,
00:42with recent polls showing growing public support for joining the bloc.
00:46The governing coalition had previously planned to hold a vote on reopening accession talks in 2027.
00:52Now that timeline appears to be accelerating.
00:56Iceland says it has much to offer the EU, from culture and tourism to a strategic role in Arctic security.
01:04Security in the Arctic and across Europe was a key focus of the meeting in Warsaw.
01:13I would be more than happy if Iceland, but also Norway,
01:16the countries with which we cooperate as closely as possible,
01:22were part of the same community as Poland.
01:26A referendum in Iceland would mark another step in the European Union's likely expansion.
01:32Montenegro is moving steadily toward possible membership in 2028.
01:37Brussels has also been drawing up plans for Ukraine to secure partial membership in the coming years.
01:44TheŘł.
01:44Thes.
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