A referendum took place on 14 September 2003 to decide whether

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

should join the

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(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 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 language, Estonian: Vabariigi Valitsus'') is the cabinet (government), cabinet of Estonia. Under the Constitution of Estonia, Constitution, it exercises executive power pursuant to the Cons ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Arnold Rüütel,

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Juhan Parts and the Speaker 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 being the only leading party against entry into the EU.

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

Referendums in Estonia Referendums related to European Union accession European 2003 in international relations

Estonia and the European Union