Referendum in Croatia on accession to the European Union

Ballots in the referendum

On January 22, 2012 , a mandatory referendum was held in Croatia on the issue of Croatia's forthcoming accession to the EU . The vast majority of voters voted for EU accession. Voter turnout was 43.51%.

Croatia's relationship with the European Union

Croatia became an independent state after the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991. The new state had to contend with considerable difficulties in the early years. The borders to the other successor states of Yugoslavia were disputed. In the Croatian War from 1991 to 1995, the Croatian army fought against the army of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK), which in turn was supported by Yugoslav and Serbian army forces. Added to this was the difficult transition phase from a socialist planned economy to a capitalist market economy. From the outset, the Croatian government sought closer ties to Western Europe, in particular the European Economic Community (from 1993: European Community) on. In 1992 Croatia became a member of the United Nations and the OSCE and in 1996 of the Council of Europe . On January 15, 1992, Croatia was recognized by the EC as an independent state. The EU supported Croatia with various aid programs totaling around €500 million between 1991 and 2002 (in 2004 figures). However, Croatia's relations with the EC/EU proved difficult for a long time, which was partly due to Croatia's military conflicts. On the other hand, the Croatian government under Franjo Tuđman (President from 1990 to 1999) was accused of democratic deficits, an authoritarian leadership style and nationalism.

Croatia European Community (EU-27)


Croatia's relations with the EU only improved with the change of government in January 2000, following the victory of the Croatian Social Democratic Party in the 2000 parliamentary elections . In October 2001 the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Croatia and the EU came into force. At a summit meeting in Zagreb on November 24, 2000, the EU held out the prospect of EU accession and a corresponding support program for the Balkan states. Compliance with the “ Copenhagen Criteria ” and the obligations arising from the Treaty on European Union were made a prerequisite for this. On February 21, 2003, the Croatian government submitted an official application for the country to join the European Union. The Council of Europe also named Croatia's full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as one of the prerequisites . This point proved controversial and delayed the start of accession negotiations. It was only in December 2005 that the chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte , certified Croatia's full willingness to cooperate with the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Accession negotiations began on December 4, 2005. The completion of the accession negotiations, originally expected for 2010, was delayed by the euro crisis . Croatia also became a member of NATO in 2009 . After the conclusion of the negotiations, the accession treaty was signed on December 9, 2011 by the representatives of the EU and Croatia.

The referendum

Tu pripadamo – “We belong here”, the motto and logo of the government's accession campaign

According to Article 142 of the Croatian constitution, it was stipulated that alliances between the Republic of Croatia and other states had to be decided by a two-thirds majority in parliament and that, in addition, a referendum had to be held no later than 30 days after the relevant parliamentary decision. In this referendum, a majority of voters had to vote in favor of the alliance. Accordingly, a nationwide referendum on the question of EU accession was scheduled for January 22, 2012.

The question asked of voters was:

"Jeste li za Članstvo Republike Hrvatske u Europskoj Uniji?"

"Are you in favor of Croatia's membership of the European Union?"

Officially, all major parties represented in the Croatian parliament elected in 2011 supported EU accession. Only the Croatian Party of Justice Dr. Ante Starčević , who only provided one member of parliament, spoke out against it. Almost all of Croatia's major social organizations were in favor of joining the EU. However, polls showed that around 30% of respondents were opposed to joining. Opposition to accession came from a variety of sources. On the one hand, nationalists opposed the associated task of national sovereignty and, on the other hand, there was resistance to the “capitalist” EU in view of the euro crisis and the economic crisis that Croatia had also gotten into.

results

Results by county (yes votes): 55%-60% 60%-65% 65%-70% 70%-75% >75%






Voter turnout: >50% 47.3%-50% 44.7%-47.3% 42.0%-44.7% <42.0%






Overall, the vote showed clear approval of the planned EU membership in all parts of Croatia. However, with 1,945,737 votes cast (47.55%), turnout was noticeably below that of the last parliamentary election in 2011 (54.32%).

county/ abroad	eligible voters	Votes Cast	ballot			yes votes		Vote no
			total	Valid	Invalid	number	%	number	%
Zagreb (county)	284,793	150,403	150,372	149,690	682	97,756	65.00%	51,934	34.53%
Krapina-Zagorje	114,920	54,742	54,732	54,364	368	34,748	63.48%	19,616	35.83%
Sisak-Moslavina	177,950	73,952	73,941	73,477	464	50,034	67.66%	23,443	31.70%
Karlovac	133,333	61,074	61,057	60,635	422	40,731	66.69%	19,904	32.59%
Varazdin	153,037	82.117	82.107	81,658	449	57,399	69.90%	24,259	29.54%
Koprivnica-Križevci	101,050	49,904	49,895	49,652	243	30,178	60.47%	19,474	39.02%
Bjelovar-Bilogora	113,642	51,820	51,816	51,541	275	32,242	62.22%	19,299	37.24%
Primorye-Gorski kotar	287,202	144.104	144,032	143,354	678	99,156	68.81%	44,198	30.67%
Lika-Senj	57,032	19,689	19,686	19,530	156	13,912	70.66%	5,618	28.53%
Virovitica Podravina	83,699	37,055	37,054	36,842	212	24,253	65.45%	12,589	33.97%
Požega-Slavonia	78,335	34,529	34,527	34,310	217	24.218	70.14%	10,092	29.23%
Brod Posavina	155,416	65,735	65,714	65,309	405	47,729	72.61%	17,580	26.74%
Zadar	182,680	70,458	70,432	69,904	528	43,330	61.50%	26,574	37.72%
Osijek-Baranja	291.205	131,720	131,676	130,983	693	88,980	67.55%	42,003	31.89%
Šibenik-Knin	122.901	45,546	45,529	45,183	346	29,033	63.74%	16,150	35.46%
Vukovar-Srmia	179,929	69,501	69,474	68,970	504	47,970	69.02%	21,000	30.22%
Split-Dalmatia	430,299	197,783	197,715	196,310	1,405	115,795	58.55%	80,515	40.71%
Istria	199,746	98,235	98.202	97,552	650	67,189	68.40%	30,363	30.91%
Dubrovnik-Neretva	115,996	53,708	53,694	53,248	446	30,574	56.93%	22,674	42.22%
Medjimurje	100,640	52.133	52.128	51,843	285	39,479	75.73%	12,364	23.72%
Zagreb (city)	728,332	401,529	401,287	399,701	1,586	272,246	67.80%	127,455	31.74%
Croatia total	4,092,137	1,945,737	1,945,070	1,934,056	11.014	1,286,952	66.14%	647.104	33.26%
Croatians abroad	412,628	14,494	14,494	14,442	52	12,056	83.18%	2,386	16.46%
Source: National Electoral Commission (Državno izborno povjerenstvo)

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On July 1, 2013, Croatia became the 28th member state of the European Union.

itemizations

1. ↑ ^{a b} Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Croatia's application for EU membership . In: Official Journal of the European Union . tape 47 , 30 April 2004, p. 68–75 ( permalink ).
2. ↑ Croatia's foreign policy. State Center for Political Education Baden-Württemberg, retrieved 29 May 2021 . 
3. ↑ Siniša Kušić: Croatia's path to the EU. 16 April 2013, retrieved 29 May 2021 . 
4. ↑ European Neighborhood Policy And Enlargement Negotiations: Croatia. European Commission, 22 November 2017, accessed 29 May 2021 (English). 
5. ↑ Ustav Republike Hrvatske (pročišćeni tekst) ("Constitution of the Republic of Croatia (consolidated text)"). Narodne novine (Official Gazette of Croatia), 6 July 2010, accessed 29 May 2021 (Croatian). 
6. ↑ Tihomir Ponoš: Lost in Cacophony. (pdf) Heinrich Böll Foundation Brussels, pp. 1–4 , accessed 29 May 2021 (English). 
7. ↑ Referendumi > Referendum o pristupanju Republike Hrvatske Europske Europske uniji - 2012. Državno izborno povjerenstvo, accessed 29 May 2021 (Croatian). 
8. ↑ July 1: Croatia joins the EU. Federal Agency for Civic Education, June 27, 2013, accessed May 29, 2021 .