Iceland has voted against restarting negotiations to join the European Union, 13 years after its previous membership talks were abandoned.

According to public broadcaster RUV, 52.8% of 225,031 voters rejected the government’s proposal to resume EU negotiations, while 47.2% voted in favour. Around 12,600 votes separated the two sides.

Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir’s centre-left government had originally promised to hold a referendum by 2027 but brought the vote forward amid growing international tensions, including US President Donald Trump’s threats involving Greenland.

Despite wider security concerns, much of the debate in Iceland focused on the country’s economically important fishing industry and how EU membership could affect it.

Around 270,000 people were eligible to participate in the referendum. RUV reported turnout of 82.5%, making it the highest turnout for an Icelandic election since 2009.

Iceland already participates in the EU’s single market and is part of the Schengen border-free travel area. Full EU membership would also bring the country into the customs union and could eventually lead to adoption of the euro.

Iceland originally applied to join the European Union in 2009 following the global financial crisis and the collapse of its banking system. The latest result means the country will not resume those membership negotiations for now.