# Why I'm voting No in the Icelandic accession talk referendum

2026-08-28

![Tractor with "ESB – Nei takk" sign outside Alþingi](/blog/voting-no-eu-referendum-hero.jpg)

Sovereignty is important for socialists that aren't just nihilists or anarchists. History has shown that socialist projects only blossom inside the confines of the nation state project. Socialists need to win and protect parliamentary majorities or engineer revolutions when the national conditions have enough contradictions. But a parliamentary victory means little if sovereignty has been eroded and super-federal structures have absorbed the key levers socialist politicians need to steer the nation project. What are those levers?

1. The full thrust of fiscal power
2. Nationalization of industry
3. Freedom to set and practice foreign and trade policy in the Icelandic interest

The EU prevents nationalization and fiscal freedom with strict rules. Foreign policy and trade agreements are outsourced to the centralized EU authorities. Trade with genocidal and hyper-aggressive warmongering trading partners is forced on the nation, and otherwise friendly nations are prevented from trading to further the agenda of the European Commission.

The EU does allow member states to run large sectors of the economy within public ownership. However the nationalization process is hampered severely by State Aid Rules, Single Market Freedoms and general trade and finance liberalization. Essentially the road to public ownership of industries is in practice blocked.

The pragmatic choice for socialists now is to say No and deny the government the path towards EU accession. An exit out of the EU would be an economically catastrophic divorce with many years of economic hardship endured to regain the sovereignty and monetary control we have today, the ground floor required to build the socialist project.