Hungarian European Union membership referendum, 2003

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A referendum on joining the European Union was held in Hungary on 12 April 2003. [1] The proposal was approved by 83.8% of voters, with a voter turnout of 45.6%. [2] Hungary subsequently joined the EU on 1 May 2004.

European Union Economic and political union of European states

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

Hungary Country in Central Europe

Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and largest city is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.

Contents

Background

Hungary submitted a membership application to the EU on 31 March 1994 and negotiations on entry began in 1998. At a summit in Copenhagen in December 2002, Hungary was one of ten countries invited to join the EU in 2004. [3] All major parties agreed that a binding referendum on membership was needed before Hungary could join the EU. [4]

European Council institution of the European Union

The European Council is a collective body that defines the European Union's overall political direction and priorities. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings. Established as an informal summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Its current president is Donald Tusk, former Prime Minister of Poland.

Copenhagen Capital of Denmark

Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. As of July 2018, the city has a population of 777,218. It forms the core of the wider urban area of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen metropolitan area. Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

The National Assembly of Hungary changed the rules on referendums in Hungary in 1997, the previous requirement that turnout be over 50% was removed and instead the requirement became that over 25% of registered voters had to support a referendum. In December 2002 the Constitution of Hungary was amended to enable a referendum on EU membership to take place. As part of the amendment it was agreed that the referendum would take place on 12 April 2003. [4]

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is invited to vote on a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new law. In some countries, it is synonymous with a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question.

Voter turnout percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Eligibility varies by country, and the voting-eligible population should not be confused with the total adult population. Age and citizenship status are often among the criteria used to determine eligibility, but some countries further restrict eligibility based on sex, race, or religion.

Constitution Set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed

A constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.

Referendum question

The question voted on in the referendum was:

"Do you agree that the Republic of Hungary should become a member of the European Union?" [5]

Campaign

All of the major political parties in Hungary, the trade unions, business organisations, churches, and media supported membership of the EU. [4] [6] However the main opposition party Fidesz, while supporting membership, warned that up to 100,000 jobs could be lost due to EU regulations and that foreign competition could cause some sectors of the economy to collapse. [7] [8]

Fidesz Hungarian political party

Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance is a national-conservative, right-wing populist political party in Hungary.

Regulation (European Union) legislative act of the European Union

A regulation is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into national law. Regulations can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject matter.

Economy of Hungary National economy

Hungary is an OECD high-income mixed economy with a very high human development index and a skilled labour force, with the 13th lowest income inequality in the world; furthermore it is the 14th most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index. The Hungarian economy is the 57th-largest economy in the world with $265.037 billion annual output, and ranks 49th in the world in terms of GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity. Hungary is an export-oriented market economy with a heavy emphasis on foreign trade; thus the country is the 35th largest export economy in the world. The country had more than $100 billion of exports in 2015, with a high trade surplus of $9.003 billion, of which 79% went to the EU and 21% was extra-EU trade. Hungary's productive capacity is more than 80% privately owned, with 39.1% overall taxation, which funds the country's welfare economy. On the expenditure side, household consumption is the main component of GDP and accounts for 50% of its total, followed by gross fixed capital formation with 22% and government expenditure with 20%.

Media coverage was overwhelmingly positive and a campaign was made to dispel popular misconceptions of EU membership. These included whether the eating of poppy seed dumplings would be allowed in the EU and if only one size of condom was available in the EU. [4] [9] Each of the four main parties also ran their own campaigns in support of the referendum. [4]

Poppy seed edible seed

Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the poppy. The tiny kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries, especially in Central Europe, where it is legally grown and sold in shops. The seeds are used whole or ground into meal as an ingredient in many foods – especially in pastry and bread – and they are pressed to yield poppyseed oil.

Condom birth control device

A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device, used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of intercourse—women whose partners use male condoms experience a 2% per-year pregnancy rate. With typical use the rate of pregnancy is 18% per-year. Their use greatly decreases the risk of gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, hepatitis B, and HIV/AIDS. They also to a lesser extent protect against genital herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV), and syphilis.

The opposition camp was confined to some small groups which organised themselves into the "Movement for a Free Hungary". None of these groups were in the Hungarian parliament and thus were unable to get any state funding for their campaign. Most opponents stressed they were not against "Europe" but were objecting to the accession terms and the current form of the EU. However opinion polls during the campaign showed strong support for membership. [4]

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For3,056,02783.8
Against592,69016.2
Invalid/blank votes17,998–
Total3,666,715100
Registered voters/turnout8,042,27245.6
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Reactions

Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy announced the result at a celebration on the banks of the Danube telling them, "Allow me to officially announce that the Hungarian republic will be a member of the European Union". [5] The European Commission welcomed the result as marking the end of Hungary's "tragic separation from the European family of democratic nations". [10]

There was concern however at the turnout which was significantly below the 70% that had been hoped for. [11] There was criticism that the danger of the referendum being invalid due to low turnout was not stressed during the campaign. [12] The opposition criticised the government's campaign as being simplistic while the government accused the opposition of being lukewarm in their support for membership. However the yes vote at 38% of voters was comfortably above the 25% level required for the referendum to be valid. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p899 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ↑ Nohlen & Stöver, p912
  3. ↑ "The 2004 enlargement: the challenge of a 25-member EU". Europa . Archived from the original on 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Referendum briefing No 4: The Hungarian EU accession referendum, 12 April 2003" (PDF). Opposing Europe Research Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  5. 1 2 "Big 'Yes' vote for EU membership in Hungary". Radio Telefís Éireann . 2003-04-13. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  6. ↑ "Maltese, Hungarians Vote in Favor of European Union". Deutsche Welle . 2003-04-13. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  7. ↑ Thorpe, Nick (2003-04-14). "Hungarians lukewarm about EU". London: The Guardian . Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  8. ↑ LeBor, Adam (2003-04-11). "Hungary tells EU leaders they must heed newcomers". London: The Times . Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  9. ↑ "EU referendum campaigns in full swing". Budapest Sun . 2003-03-06. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  10. ↑ "EU votes trigger parties in Malta and Hungary". London: The Daily Telegraph . 2003-04-13. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  11. ↑ "Hungarians approve EU entry". Melbourne: The Age . 2003-04-13. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  12. ↑ "European Press Review". BBC Online . 2003-04-14. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  13. ↑ "Hungary's EU apathy". BBC Online . 2003-04-14. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
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