Sovereignty, farming and fishing: Iceland votes on its future with the EU

Iceland’s freezing temperatures typically last about five months of the year, but the government has chosen a balmy summer day for its pivotal national referendum.

Icelanders head to the polls on Saturday to decide whether their country should reenter negotiations to join the European Union, a vote that could have economic and security implications beyond the small Arctic country.

Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, whose opposition party currently polls at around 15 percent, was Iceland’s prime minister when the country dropped its previous bid to join the EU in 2015 over the issue of fishery quotas.

U.S. threats in the Arctic push Reykjavik to hold a referendum on restarting membership talks.