Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek reform, to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable. The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism.
The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003.
A referendum was expected to take place in the United Kingdom in 2006 to decide whether the country should ratify the proposed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. However, following the rejection of the Constitution by similar referendums in France in May 2005 and the Netherlands in June 2005, the UK vote was postponed indefinitely. The question was thought to have been settled when the constitution was superseded by the Treaty of Lisbon, which Parliament ratified in 2008 without holding a referendum.
The 1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, also known variously as the Referendum on the European Community (Common Market), the Common Market referendum and EEC membership referendum, was a non-binding referendum that took place on 5 June 1975 in the United Kingdom (UK) under the provisions of the Referendum Act 1975 to ask the electorate whether the country should continue to remain a member of, or leave, the European Communities (EC) also known at the time as the Common Market — which it had joined as a member state two-and-a-half years earlier on 1 January 1973 under the Conservative government of Edward Heath. The Labour Party's manifesto for the October 1974 general election had promised that the people would decide through the ballot box whether to remain in the EC.
This is a list of referendums related to the European Union, or referendums related to the European Communities, which were predecessors of the European Union. Since 1972, a total of 48 referendums have been held by EU member states, candidate states, and their territories, with several additional referendums held in countries outside the EU. The referendums have been held most commonly on the subject of whether to become a member of European Union as part of the accession process, although the EU does not require any candidate country to hold a referendum to approve membership or as part of treaty ratification. Other EU-related referendums have been held on the adoption of the euro and on participation in other EU-related policies.
A referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held in Spain on Sunday, 20 February 2005. The question asked was "Do you approve of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe?". The consultative referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution for the European Union was approved by 81.8% of valid votes, although turnout was just 41.8%, the lowest since the end of the Franco era.
A consultative referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held in the Netherlands on 1 June 2005 to decide whether the government should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. The result was a "No" vote.
The Czech referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was expected to take place in 2006 to decide whether the Czech Republic should ratify the proposed Constitution of the European Union. Following the rejection of the Constitution by voters in France and the Netherlands, the Czech government announced that the proposed referendum would not be held.
A referendum on ratifying the proposed European Constitution was held in Luxembourg on 10 July 2005. The referendum was Luxembourg's first since 1937. On 28 June 2005 Parliament approved the constitution in advance of the referendum, and although the referendum was consultative, parliament agreed to abide by the results.
The Irish referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was a vote that was planned but did not occur. The referendum was expected to take place in 2005 or 2006 to decide whether Ireland should ratify the proposed EU Constitution. Following the rejection of the Constitution by voters in the French referendum of May 2005 and the Dutch referendum of June 2005, the planned Irish referendum was postponed indefinitely.
Holger Kirkholm Nielsen, known as Holger K. Nielsen, is a Danish politician, member of the Folketing for the Socialist People's Party. He was Denmark's Minister for Foreign Affairs for 49 days from December 2013 through January 2014. He was the leader of the Socialist People's Party from 1991 to 2005 and served as the Minister for Taxation from 2012 to 2013.
A referendum on the Maastricht Treaty for the founding of the European Union was held in France on 20 September 1992. It was approved by 51% of the voters. The result of the referendum, known as the "petit oui", along with the Danish "No" vote (50,7%) are considered to be signals of a transition of public opinion on European integration, away from the "permissive consensus" which had existed in most member states until then. From this point forward issues relating to European integration were subject to more intensive discussions across much of Europe, and later overt euroscepticism gained prominence. Only France, Ireland and Denmark held referendums on the Maastricht Treaty ratification.
A referendum on joining the Eurozone was held in Denmark on 28 September 2000. It was rejected by 53.2% of voters with a turnout of 87.6%.
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Ireland that was put to a referendum in 2008. The purpose of the proposed amendment was to allow the state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union.
The Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2009 is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which permitted the state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union. It was approved by referendum on 2 October 2009.
The ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon was officially completed by all member states of the European Union on 13 November 2009 when the Czech Republic deposited its instrument of ratification with the Italian government. The Lisbon Treaty came into force on the first day of the month following the deposition of the last instrument of ratification with the government of Italy, which was 1 December 2009.
The history of the European Union from 2004 to the present is the current timeline of the European Union. It is a period of significant upheaval and reform following the 2004 enlargement of the European Union. The EU has taken on ten new members, eight of which were initially much poorer than the EU average, and took in a further two in 2007 with many more on the way. It created the euro a few years before and had to expand this, and the Schengen Area to its new members. However this was overshadowed by the late-2000s recession and damaging disputes over the European Constitution and its successor, the Treaty of Lisbon. Throughout this period, the European People's Party has been the largest group in the European Parliament and provides every President of the European Commission.
The Socialist Party is a centre-left to left-wing political party in France. It holds social democratic and pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major political parties under the Fifth Republic, along with the Rally for the Republic in the late 20th century, and with the Union for a Popular Movement in the early 2000s. It is currently led by First Secretary Olivier Faure. The PS is a member of the Party of European Socialists, Progressive Alliance and Socialist International.
The United Kingdom was a member state of the European Union (EU) and of its predecessor the European Communities (EC) – principally the European Economic Community (EEC) – from 1 January 1973 until 31 January 2020. Since the foundation of the EEC, the UK had been an important neighbour and then a leading member state, until Brexit ended 47 years of membership. During the UK's time as a member state two referendums were held on the issue of its membership: the first, held on 5 June 1975, resulting in a vote to stay in the EC, and the second, held on 23 June 2016, resulting in a vote to leave the EU.
A Question of Europe was a televised debate of the Oxford Union held on 3 June 1975. The debate was held two days before the 1975 referendum, in which the electorate were asked if Britain should remain a member of the European Economic Community (EEC) which it had joined in 1973. The statement debated was "that this House would say yes to Europe". Former prime minister Edward Heath and the leader of the Liberal Party Jeremy Thorpe spoke in favour of the motion and Labour ministers Barbara Castle and Peter Shore spoke against it. Heath judged that the audience were largely in favour of the motion anyway and in the vote after the debate, the statement was approved by 493 votes to 92. The debate was broadcast live on BBC1 with an introduction by Robin Day and Ludovic Kennedy; at the end of the programme David Dimbleby provided an update on other developments in the referendum campaign. The result of the 5 June referendum was 67% in favour of remaining within the EEC.
