A referendum took place on 14 September 2003 to decide whether

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

should join the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU). Just over two-thirds of voters voted Yes and Estonia joined the EU on 1 May 2004.

Background

Membership of the European Union was one of the main objectives of Estonian foreign policy since independence in 1991. Estonia was invited to begin negotiations to join the EU in 1997 and was formally invited to join at a summit in

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in December 2002. The

Parliament of Estonia The Riigikogu (; from Estonian ''riigi-'', of the state, and ''kogu'', assembly) is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. In addition to approving legislation, the Parliament appoints high officials, including the Prime Minister and Chief Just ...

then announced that a referendum on membership of the EU would be held in mid September 2003.

Referendum question

The question to be voted on in the referendum was agreed by the

Government of Estonia The Government of the Republic of Estonia ('' Estonian: Vabariigi Valitsus'') is the cabinet of Estonia. Under the Constitution, it exercises executive power pursuant to the Constitution and laws of Estonia. The cabinet carries out the country' ...

in December 2002. It was: ''Are you in favour of the accession to the European Union and passage of the Act on Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia?''

Campaign

Opinion polls in the first half of 2003 showed only lukewarm support for membership. This persuaded leading politicians including

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Arnold Rüütel Arnold Rüütel OIH () (born 10 May 1928) is an Estonian politician and agricultural scientist. He has served as the last chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR from 8 April 1983 to 29 March 1990, Chairman of the Su ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Juhan Parts Juhan Parts (born 27 August 1966) is an Estonian politician who was Prime Minister of Estonia from 2003 to 2005 and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications from 2007 to 2014. Juhan Parts is a member of Isamaa party. Education Born in T ...

and the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of Parliament Ene Ergma to start campaigning hard for a Yes vote. The economy was one of the main issues used by both sides in the referendum campaign. Supporters of joining the EU said that it would fuel growth and create more jobs, while opponents said that EU entry would slow the growth of the Estonian economy. Opponents also argued that Estonia should not go straight from one union, the

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, into the EU. The Yes campaign had strong media, political and financial backing with the

Estonian Centre Party The Estonian Centre Party ( et, Eesti Keskerakond, EK) is a populist political party in Estonia. It was founded in 1991 as a direct successor of the Popular Front of Estonia, and it is currently led by Jüri Ratas. The party was founded on 12 O ...

being the only leading party against entry into the EU.

Posters A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...

for the Yes campaign predominated, with one poster handed out by the

Res Publica Party Res Publica Party ( et, Erakond Res Publica) was a political party in Estonia that self-identified as conservative. Established as a party on 8 December 2001, the political organisation Res Publica was founded already as early as 1989 and exist ...

calling for Estonians to vote Yes 'for access to millions of sexier men'. As the vote neared, polls showed increasing support for the Yes camp with one poll showing 70% support for EU entry.

Results

References

External links

Full results by county
{{Estonian elections 2003 referendums Referendums in Estonia Referendums related to European Union accession 2003 in Estonia 2003 in international relations 2003 in the European Union Estonia and the European Union