Senior EU officials are downplaying the fallout from Iceland’s referendum defeat, as Brussels tries to keep the momentum for enlargement alive at a high-level meeting on Friday.

European affairs ministers from EU member states and candidate countries are meeting in Dublin for the first informal gathering hosted by Ireland’s EU Council presidency, to discuss the enlargement process in the wake of Iceland’s vote.

On Saturday, Icelandic voters rejected reopening accession talks with Brussels, frozen since 2013, by a narrow margin, 52.8% to 47.2%, a significant blow to the EU’s enlargement ambitions, particularly towards its wealthier neighbours.

As…

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