Iceland sits on the geological boundary(地质分界线) between North America and Eurasia, equidistant(等距离的) from New York and Athens. It is tied to America by long-standing(长期存在的) defence arrangements and hosts(设有，驻扎) a NATO(北大西洋公约组织) base in Keflavik. It is linked to Europe by history (it won independence from Denmark in 1944) and commerce (it belongs to the European Economic Area). Now, amid transatlantic(跨大西洋的) tension and concerns about Donald Trump’s intentions in the Arctic, the country is about to vote on whether to take a step closer to(向……更近一步) the European Union.
冰岛地处北美与欧亚大陆的地质分界线上，与纽约和雅典的距离相当。它通过长期的防务安排与美国紧密相连，并在凯夫拉维克设有北约基地。它与欧洲的联系则源于历史（1944年从丹麦独立）和商业（属于欧洲经济区）。如今，在跨大西洋关系紧张、人们对特朗普在北极意图感到担忧之际，这个国家即将就是否向欧盟再迈近一步举行投票。
On August 29th the island of 400,000 people will hold a referendum(全民公投) on whether to restart membership talks with the EU. Iceland began these nearly two decades ago, but ended them in 2013 after electing a Eurosceptic(疑欧的) government. Voting yes will not commit the country to(使国家承诺) joining the EU; another vote would take place when talks conclude. Yet the pro-European camp is worried. Two polls in June and one in July showed a majority of just 52-53% for restarting talks. That lead is too close for comfort(近得令人不安) and could easily be reversed(被逆转).
8月29日，这个拥有40万人口的岛国将就是否重启与欧盟的入盟谈判举行公投。冰岛在近二十年前开始了这些谈判，但在2013年选举出疑欧政府后终止了谈判。投赞成票并不会让国家承诺加入欧盟；谈判结束时还将进行另一次投票。然而，亲欧阵营感到担忧。6月的两项民调和7月的一项民调显示，支持重启谈判的比例仅为52%-53%。这一领先优势小得令人不安，很容易被逆转。
Weak Euro-enthusiasm appears to fly in the face of(公然违背) today’s geopolitics(地缘政治). Iceland does not have its own armed forces. It relies on rotating(轮换的) air-force deployments from NATO countries to Keflavik. With only coastguard ships at its disposal(供其使用), Iceland leans on(依赖) American and European aircraft to monitor the growing activity of Russian submarines nearby; in June a Russian spy ship was detected just outside its waters. The government worries about hybrid warfare(混合战争) and attacks on infrastructure.
对欧洲的热情不高，似乎与当今的地缘政治现实相悖。冰岛没有自己的武装力量。它依赖北约国家轮流部署空军到凯夫拉维克。由于只有海岸警卫队船只可用，冰岛依靠美国和欧洲的飞机来监视附近日益频繁的俄罗斯潜艇活动；6月，一艘俄罗斯间谍船在冰岛水域外被发现。政府担心混合战争和对基础设施的攻击。