HELSINKI, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Iceland's parliament, Althingi, on Thursday approved a resolution to hold a national referendum on Aug. 29 on whether the country should reopen accession talks with the European Union (EU).
According to the parliament, 34 lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution, eight voted against it, 14 abstained, and seven were absent.
If approved, formal negotiations between the Icelandic authorities and the EU will be reopened. However, any final accession agreement will have to be submitted to Icelandic voters in a separate referendum.
Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009. Accession talks were suspended and later halted in 2013 after a Eurosceptic government took office. However, according to Icelandic parliamentary documents, the European Commission has maintained that the application was never formally withdrawn. Enditem
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