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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.
The United Kingdom is the only country as an EU member state to have held referendums on continued membership of the European Union and its antecedent organisation, the European Communities. In the first referendum in 1975, continued membership of what was then the European Communities (which included the European Economic Community, often referred to as the Common Market in the UK) [nb 1] was approved by 67.2% of voters, while in its second referendum in 2016 voters voted by 51.9% to leave the European Union, effectively reversing the result of the first referendum. [nb 2]
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, voted to leave the EC in a referendum in 1982 by 53% of voters.
Country | Year | Vote (%) | Turnout (%) | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denmark | 1972 |
| 90.1 | Joined | ||
France | 1972 |
| 60.2 | Approved | ||
Norway | 1972 |
| 79.0 | No action | ||
Ireland | 1972 |
| 70.9 | Joined | ||
United Kingdom | 1975 |
| 64.6 | Remained (No action) | ||
Greenland | 1982 |
| - | Left | ||
Åland | 1994 |
| 49.1 | Joined | ||
Austria | 1994 |
| 82.3 | Joined | ||
Finland | 1994 |
| 70.8 | Joined | ||
Norway | 1994 |
| 89.0 | No action | ||
Sweden | 1994 |
| 83.3 | Joined | ||
Switzerland | 1997 |
| 35.4 | No action | ||
Switzerland | 2001 |
| 55.8 | No action | ||
Czech Republic | 2003 |
| 55.2 | Joined | ||
Estonia | 2003 |
| 64.1 | Joined | ||
Hungary | 2003 |
| 45.6 | Joined | ||
Latvia | 2003 |
| 71.5 | Joined | ||
Lithuania | 2003 |
| 63.4 | Joined | ||
Malta | 2003 |
| 90.9 | Joined | ||
Poland | 2003 |
| 58.9 | Joined | ||
Slovakia | 2003 |
| 52.1 | Joined | ||
Slovenia | 2003 |
| 60.2 | Joined | ||
Croatia | 2012 |
| 43.5 | Joined | ||
San Marino | 2013 |
| 49.7 | No action | ||
United Kingdom | 2016 |
| 72.2 | Left | ||
North Macedonia | 2018 |
| 36.9 [lower-alpha 1] | Joining |
In 1972, four countries held referendums on the subject of the 1973 enlargement of the European Communities.
Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom were admitted as members of the EC, acceding on 1 January 1973.
Two referendums were held in EU countries to permit them to ratify the Single European Act.
In 1994, four countries, and one dependency, held referendums on membership of the EU, resulting in the 1995 enlargement of the European Union.
Austria, Sweden, and Finland were admitted as members of the EU, acceding on 1 January 1995.
Two countries held referendums on the ratification of the treaty of Amsterdam.
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union involved ten candidate states, eight from Central and Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Cyprus. In 2003, referendums on joining the EU were held in all these nations except Cyprus.
Since the results were in favourable in all cases, all ten candidate countries were admitted as members of the EU, acceding on 1 May 2004.
Denmark and the United Kingdom received opt-outs from the Maastricht Treaty and do not have to join the euro unless they choose to do so; Sweden has not received an opt-out, yet deliberately does not live up to the requirements for joining. Two referendums have been held on the issue, both of which rejected accession.
Several member states used or intended to use referendums to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE).
Referendums were planned, but not held, in:
Only one member state, Ireland, obliged by their constitution, decided on ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon through a referendum.
Croatia was admitted as a member of the EU, acceding on 1 July 2013.
A referendum was held in San Marino on whether the country should submit an application to join the European Union as a full member state.
The Unified Patent Court is a proposed court between several EU member states, that, inter alia, is to be constituted for litigation related to the European Union patent.
Countries which seek to join the European Union in the future may hold a referendum as part of the accession process.
A referendum in Moldova on joining the EU is planned for autumn 2024. [4] Previously, on 2 February 2014 the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia within Moldova held a referendum in which 97.2% opposed further integration with the EU. There is concern in Gagauzia that Moldova's integration with the EU could lead to unification with EU member Romania, which is unpopular in the autonomous region. [5]
In addition, Article 88-5 of the Constitution of France requires a referendum there to ratify any future accession treaty. [6] Politicians in other existing member states have proposed referendums in their states, particularly with reference to the accession of Turkey.
There has been discussion amongst eurosceptic parties and movements across the EU on holding referendums on withdrawing from the EU, since the 2016 referendum in the UK. [7]
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the process of European integration" chiefly in provisions for a shared European citizenship, for the eventual introduction of a single currency, and for common foreign and security policies, and a number of changes to the European institutions and their decision taking procedures, not least a strengthening of the powers of the European Parliament and more majority voting on the Council of Ministers. Although these were seen by many to presage a "federal Europe", key areas remained inter-governmental with national governments collectively taking key decisions. This constitutional debate continued through the negotiation of subsequent treaties, culminating in the 2007 Treaty of Lisbon.
The European Communities Act 1972, also known as the ECA 1972, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which made legal provision for the accession of the United Kingdom as a member state to the three European Communities (EC) – the European Economic Community, European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the European Coal and Steel Community ; the EEC and ECSC subsequently became the European Union.
The Treaty of Nice was signed by European leaders on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003.
The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was an unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for the European Union (EU). It would have replaced the existing European Union treaties with a single text, given legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and expanded qualified majority voting into policy areas which had previously been decided by unanimity among member states.
The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The Act set the European Community an objective of establishing a single market by 31 December 1992, and a forerunner of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) it helped codify European Political Co-operation. The amending treaty was signed at Luxembourg City on 17 February 1986 and at The Hague on 28 February 1986. It came into effect on 1 July 1987, under the Delors Commission.
The Third Amendment of the Constitution Act 1972 is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland that permitted the State to join the European Communities, which would later become the European Union, and provided that European Community law would take precedence over the constitution. It was approved by referendum on 10 May 1972, and signed into law by the President of Ireland Éamon de Valera on 8 June of the same year.
A referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was held in France on 29 May 2005 to decide whether the French government should ratify the proposed constitution of the European Union. The result was a victory for the "no" campaign, with 55% of voters rejecting the treaty on a turnout of 69%.
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.
The history of the European Communities between 1958 and 1972 saw the early development of the European Communities. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) had just been joined by the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC), the latter of which soon became the most important. In 1967 the EEC's institutions took over the other two with the EEC's Commission holding its first terms under Hallstein and Rey.
A referendum on the Maastricht Treaty for the founding of the European Union was held in Denmark on 2 June 1992. The treaty was rejected by 50.7% of voters with a turnout of 83.1%. This meant a serious hurdle on the way in the process of further European integration, which nevertheless did continue because all twelve member states did want to ratify.
In general, the law of the European Union is valid in all of the twenty-seven European Union member states. However, occasionally member states negotiate certain opt-outs from legislation or treaties of the European Union, meaning they do not have to participate in certain policy areas. Currently, three states have such opt-outs: Denmark, Ireland and Poland. The United Kingdom had four opt-outs before leaving the Union.
The history of the European Union between 1993 and 2004 was the period between its creation and the 2004 enlargement. The European Union was created at the dawn of the post–Cold War era and saw a series of successive treaties laying the ground for the euro, foreign policy and future enlargement. Three new member states joined the previous twelve in this period and the European Economic Area extended the reach of the EU's markets to three more.
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 Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states on 13 December 2007, entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1992), known in updated form as the Treaty on European Union (2007) or TEU, as well as the Treaty of Rome (1957), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2007) or TFEU. It also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).
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.
Denmark in the European Union refers to the historical and current issues of Denmark's membership in the European Union (EU). Denmark has a permanent representation to the EU in Brussels, led by ambassador Jonas Bering Liisberg.
The Treaty of Accession 1972 was the international agreement which provided for the accession of Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom to the European Communities. Norway did not ratify the treaty after it was rejected in a referendum held in September 1972. The treaty was ratified by Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom who became EC member states on 1 January 1973 when the treaty entered into force. The treaty remains an integral part of the constitutional basis of the European Union.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union (EU) member states which sets out the EU's constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedures and objectives. The EU can only act within the competences granted to it through these treaties and amendment to the treaties requires the agreement and ratification of every single signatory.
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.