Iceland's EU Vote Reopens Questions on Bloc's Future Shape

Iceland will go to the polls on Sunday to decide whether to resume negotiations on European Union membership, a vote that could make the Nordic island nation the 11th country formally aspiring to join the bloc, according to a report by The Local Italy published Tuesday.

The referendum comes at a moment when the EU is grappling with how to manage enlargement — balancing the urgent geopolitical case for bringing in Ukraine and the Western Balkans against the institutional and budgetary strains of adding new members.

For Italy, a founding member of the European Economic Community and a net contributor to the EU budget, the expansion question carries direct consequences. A larger union would mean deeper competition for structural funds and a shift in the bloc's centre of political gravity.