The European Union could soon add a 28th member to its ranks, as Iceland is set to vote on joining the bloc this summer. But not all Icelanders support EU membership, with polls split down the middle, and what happens in the referendum could have ripple effects on the international order.

‘Important for international security’
Icelanders will not be voting on whether to join the EU but on whether Iceland should resume negotiations about joining. If the referendum passes, a second vote would be held to make Iceland an EU member state. 

Icelanders in favor of restarting talks view joining the EU as “important for international security and an opportunity for better integration in Europe,” said Miranda Bryant at The Guardian. There have been considerations for a while about Iceland joining the bloc, but the turbocharged referendum is “in part motivated by threats from the U.S., a longtime close ally of Iceland, to forcibly acquire its closest neighbor, Greenland.” The EU has “intensified a rethink of its Arctic strategy since Trump’s rhetoric over Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, reached a peak earlier this year,” said Mari Novik at the Financial Times. 

‘Half the country will be upset’
Not all Icelanders are eager to join the EU. “About half the country will be upset with the result” of the referendum no matter which side wins, according to polls, said Elías Þórsson at Icelandic news magazine The Reykjavík Grapevine. Some feel that EU membership means “giving up Iceland’s sovereignty,” said political scientist Ólafur Harðarson to the Grapevine.

The country’s fishing industry may be what the referendum ultimately comes down to. Icelanders have “watched with alarm as Ireland, an EU member, has endured cuts to fishing quotas that have devastated its coastal communities,” said Amelia Nierenberg at The New York Times. And the island’s people are fearful the EU could do the same thing to Iceland without a carve-out. 

“People feel that they might be forced to pick a side,” said Eirikur Bergmann, a politics professor at Iceland’s Bifrost University, to the Times. And then there’s “really only one side to pick.”

The raid on the headquarters of Spain’s governing Socialist Party last week is only the latest in a “blizzard of corruption scandals” to hit the leadership of Pedro Sánchez, said Politico. “Scandal after scandal” involving the prime minister’s political allies and relatives and the alleged misuse of party funds have left him “on the ropes.”

What are the allegations?
An investigating judge has accused former Socialist PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of leading a criminal network that used his influence to arrange a $61 million Covid-era government bailout for the airline Spanish Plus Ultra. He’s accused of receiving $3 million from the network and has been charged with criminal organization, influence peddling and falsifying documents. Zapatero, a close ally of Sánchez (pictured above), denies the charges.

In a separate case last fall, Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz, a government appointee, was found guilty of revealing secrets. And a party operative, Leire Díez, has been accused of being paid to “carry out a campaign of misinformation” with the intention of “impeding” the legal cases connected to the party, said the BBC. She has also denied any wrongdoing.

What about Sánchez’s family?
Last month, his wife, Begoña Gómez, was charged with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings, and misappropriation of funds. She denies the charges, and Sánchez has described the case as an “obscene farce.”

In an unrelated case, the PM’s brother, David, is on trial with 10 other defendants over his appointment to a musical director post in 2017. He denies charges of influence peddling and misuse of public office.

What does this mean for Spain?
Sánchez came to power in 2018 on an anti-corruption ticket, after a corruption scandal brought down the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy. Although Sánchez has not been directly implicated in any of the investigations, questions over whether he knew about, tolerated or benefited politically from the alleged actions of those around him are damaging his standing.

Crucially, it’s “increasingly awkward” for Sánchez’s allies to “stick with him” as the “scale” of the alleged corruption “comes into focus,” said Politico. Although Spain does not have to hold elections until August of next year, he may be “forced to move earlier.”

Fishing crews pull in their nets at sunrise in Kolkata, West Bengal. The image, titled “Early Morning Catch, Hooghly River” and captured by Dutch photographer Marco Rutten, is among 27 winners chosen from almost 9,000 entries in the 2026 World Food Photography Awards.
Marco Rutten / World Food Photography Awards 

With many parts of the world bracing for a scorching summer driven by the Super El Niño climate pattern, people might be spending more time indoors than they had expected. If so, they will have an impressive array of new and returning shows to help pass the time.

‘The Witness’
A two-timeline potboiler, “The Witness” (pictured above) is about a 2-year-old who’s the lone witness to the brutal 1992 murder of his mother. The “gripping but distressing” three-part series, based on a true story, shows a family working through “unimaginable trauma” while dealing with the long-term aftermath, said Phil Harrison at The Guardian. (June 4 on Netflix)

‘The Bear’ season 5 
FX’s Chicago-set restaurant drama returns for its fifth and final season. The fourth season told viewers that “if you are tired, it’s OK to take a break” because “you can’t save someone else until you save yourself,” said Whitney Friedlander at Paste Magazine. The final season of creator Christopher Storer’s show is a slam dunk for fans and destined to be the subject of a thousand think pieces. (June 25 on Hulu)

‘Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness’
Larry David’s HBO Max sketch comedy series will inadvertently function as a kind of counterprogramming to the White House’s celebration plans for the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary. David is “gearing up to take his ‘world’s most yelled-at man’ bona fides back into history,” said William Hughes at The A.V. Club. (June 26 on HBO Max)