Referendum in Finland in 1994 on joining the European Union

Accession negotiations to the EU 1992–94: Finland Austria, Norway and Sweden European Community




On October 16, 1994 , a referendum was held in Finland on joining the European Union . 56.9% of the voters voted in favor of accession to the European Union (EU) , which was supported by the government .

prehistory

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc ruled by it in 1989–1991, new political opportunities and perspectives opened up for the states of East Central Europe and Northeast Europe. Finland did not belong to the Eastern Bloc, but despite its western democratic social system, due to its geographical location on the direct border with the Soviet Union, it pursued a strict policy of non- alignment. Finland had close economic ties with the Soviet Union. At the same time it was a member of the European free trade area EFTA .

Esko Aho ( Center Party , photo from 2010), Prime Minister of Finland from 1990 to 1995

Given the political upheaval in 1989 proposed EC - Commission President Jacques Delors , the formation of a European Free Trade Association, a European Economic Area before (EEA) of the European Community and EFTA countries. The Finnish government and public opinion in Finland initially seemed satisfied with this EEA perspective, but the issue of possible EC membership kept coming up on the political agenda. During a televised debate the day before Finland's 1991 parliamentary elections , top politicians from various parties were asked whether Finland should apply for EC membership in the next four years. Representatives of the Social Democrats , the Center Party and the Left Alliance replied "No". The Conservatives and Greens abstained and a 'yes' vote was given by the Swedish People's Party , Liberals , Constitutionalists and smaller groups.

The negotiations between the EC and EFTA dragged on. In 1990 and 1991, two EFTA states - Austria and Sweden - made direct applications for membership in the European Community. After the failed August coup in 1991 in the Soviet Union, the three Baltic states of Estonia , Lithuania and Latvia declared their independence from the Soviet Union. In Finland a rethink began and in March 1992 the Finnish government under Esko Aho officially announced that Finland would start accession negotiations with the EC and on March 18, 1992 the Finnish parliament approved this.

The arguments of those in favor of membership were primarily aimed at the assumed improved political stability and security of Finland with membership in times of political upheaval in Europe, as well as economic advantages. In particular, many Finns viewed the political instability of neighboring Russia with concern. In the parliamentary elections in Russia in 1993, the right-wing extremist movement led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky fared far better than previously expected. At the same time, EU membership supporters in Finland temporarily gained almost 20% in opinion polls. The opponents of membership cited above all the loss of sovereignty and Finland's one-sided ties to the West, as well as possible economic disadvantages, especially for agriculture. In opinion polls there was a clear age dependency in attitudes towards the question of EU membership. The majority of younger voters were clearly in favor, older voters against. The higher the educational attainment of the respondents, the higher the approval rate for membership. Voters from bourgeois parties were clearly in favor of membership, there was a slim majority among supporters of the Social Democrats, the Greens were divided and those on the left were against membership. Men were more inclined to vote for membership than women.

On February 1, 1993 Finland started negotiations with the EC together with Austria and Sweden. Since many problems had already been resolved during the previous EEA negotiations, the negotiations progressed rapidly and came to an official conclusion on March 1, 1994. Norway started its negotiations with the EU separately. All four states decided to hold referenda on joining the EU. Formally, however, the voting in Finland only had a consultative status, but it was given high political weight.

The Finnish referendum was preceded by the referendum in Austria on June 12, 1994, in which the voters voted with a large majority of 66.6% in favor of joining the EU.

The question asked in the referendum on October 16, 1994, “Should Finland join the European Union within the framework of the agreements made?” Read in the two national languages Finnish and Swedish :

"Tuleeko Suomen liittyä Euroopan unionin jäseneksi neuvotellun sopimuksen mukaisesti?"

- Question of the referendum in Finnish

"Bör Finland bli medlem av Europeiska unionen i enlighet med det avtal som förhandlingarna har lett till?"

- Question of the referendum in Swedish

The question had to be answered with "Kyllä" / "Ei" or "Ja" / "Nej".

Results

The turnout was 70.79% and thus below that of the previous presidential election on January 16 and February 6, 1994 (78%) but above that of the 1991 parliamentary election (68%). Approval for accession tended to be particularly pronounced in the south. The highest approval rate of 87.8% was in the municipality of Kauniainen , the lowest with 19.4% in Ullava .

Cartographic representation of the results of the referendum. The percentage of “yes” votes, ie support for EU membership, is shown in figures

region	electoral legitimate	Voters	Participation (in%)	Invalid (in%) †	Votes (number)		Votes in%
					Yes	No	Yes	No
South Savo	133,861	90.816	67.84	0.41	49,268	41,167	54.48	45.52
North Savo	197.171	135,588	68.77	0.36	65.127	69,960	48.21	51.79
South Karelia	134,302	89,809	66.87	0.42	42,919	46,516	47.99	52.01
Kainuu	71,862	50,880	70.8	0.40	18,016	32,663	35.55	64.45
Uusimaa	899.718	700.261	77.83	0.45	493.811	203,333	70.83	29.17
Ita-Uusimaa	64,545	48,708	75.46	0.49	30,760	17,708	63.46	36.54
Varsinais-Suomi	330,644	248,801	75.25	0.47	140.209	107,422	56.62	43.38
Kanta-malice	126,245	93,897	74.38	0.55	53,125	40,258	56.89	43.11
Päijät-Häme	152.136	111.221	73.11	0.42	68,596	42,147	61.94	38.06
Kymenlaakso	150,492	109,439	72.72	0.41	72.173	36,807	66.23	33.77
North Karelia	109,178	78,484	71.89	0.42	49,722	28,432	63.62	36.38
Central Finland	195,490	141,062	72.16	0.42	66,813	73,663	47.56	52.44
South Ostrobothnia	150,585	113.272	75.22	0.37	43,945	68.910	38.94	61.06
Ostrobothnia	129,832	99,703	76.79	0.57	50,318	48,817	50.76	49.24
Satakunta	189.002	140,400	74.28	0.47	70,541	69.192	50.48	49.52
Pirkanmaa	330.297	247.180	74.84	0.49	134.719	111,248	54.77	45.23
Central Ostrobothnia	52,361	40.025	76.44	0.43	17,036	22,815	42.75	57.25
Northern Ostrobothnia	249,932	180.451	72.2	0.46	82,658	96,961	46.02	53.98
Lapland	149.718	108.205	72.27	0.39	51.117	56,675	47.42	52.58
Åland Islands	18,752	11,483	61.24	1.34	5,885	5,444	51.95	48.05
Finns abroad	206.484	22,156	10.73	0.28	13,968	8,123	63.23	36.77
Finland ††	4,042,607	2,861,841	70.79	0.45	1,620,726	1,228,261	56.89	43.11
Source: European Eclection Database, University of Bergen

^† based on the number of voters ^†† excluding Finns abroad

After the referendum

Finland joined the European Union on January 1, 1995 as part of the so-called " EFTA enlargement ". The country held the EU Council Presidency several times , from July to December 1999, July to December 2006 and in the future January to July 2020. In the early years of membership, this enjoyed considerable popularity. Finland also joined the euro area, unlike neighboring Sweden and Denmark . All Finnish governments have repeatedly made their commitments to membership of the country in the European Union, but also called for improvements in the functioning of the EU institutions.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jan Store: EU Membership Has Been Good for Finland . Diplomaatia, No. 137/138, February 2015
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Suomen EU-kansanäänestys 1994 (report of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1994, edited by Pertti Pesonen). ISBN 951-724-014-7 (Finnish, with English summary)
3. ↑ Laki neuvoa-antavasta kansanäänestyksestä Suomen liittymisestä Euroopan unionin jäseneksi: 3 § Kysymyksenasettelu ja vastausvaihtoehdot. Retrieved November 5, 2016 (Finnish). 
4. ↑ Lag om en rådgivande folkomröstning angående frågan om Finland skall bli medlem av Europeiska unionen: 3 § Frågeställningen och svarsalternativen. Retrieved November 5, 2016 (Swedish). 
5. ↑ European Union: Finland. European Union, accessed November 5, 2016 . 
6. ↑ Finland and the EU: In and happy. The Economist , October 9, 1997, accessed November 5, 2016 . 
7. ↑ Finland in the European Union. Office of the Finnish Prime Minister, accessed November 5, 2016 .