Referendum in Malta on joining the European Union

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On March 8, 2003, a referendum was held in Malta on the country's accession to the European Union . It was accepted with a narrow majority of 53.6%.

history

On December 5, 1970, Malta signed an Association Agreement with the European Economic Community (EEC). On July 16, 1990, Malta officially applied for admission to the EEC. The application for admission was approved by the relevant EEC (or from 1993 EC ) bodies and from July 1995 negotiations between the EC and Malta began to prepare for admission to the country. However, these negotiations were broken off again in October 1996 when the Labor government came to power in Malta . The Maltese parliamentary elections in 1998 were won by the conservative Nationalist Party , which resumed negotiations on the country's EU accession. At the EU summit in Copenhagen on December 12th and 13th, 2002, negotiations on the eastward expansion of the European Union (EU) were concluded and an invitation was issued to Malta and nine other countries in East Central Europe, Northeastern and Southern Europe to join the EU. The Maltese government under the conservative Edward Fenech Adami announced a referendum on the question of EU accession, which should, however, be non-binding. This referendum was held on March 8, 2003. Before the referendum, there was a fierce election campaign in which the Conservatives spoke out in favor of joining the EU and the opposition Labor Party against joining the EU. The question asked of the voters was:

"Do you agree that Malta will become a member state of the European Union on May 1st, 2004 as part of the EU expansion?"

- Question from the referendum of March 8, 2003

Results

choice be right percent
Yes 143.094 53.6
No 123,628 46.4
Invalid / blank ballot papers 3,911 -
total 270,633 100
Registered voters / turnout 297,881 90.9
Source: Government of Malta

The voter turnout of over 90% was by far the highest of all referendums held in the EU candidate countries in 2003. At the same time, the approval rate was by far the lowest: just over half of those who voted approved Malta's accession to the EU. The question of EU membership was accordingly also a major campaign topic in the parliamentary elections in April 2003 . This election was won by the EU-friendly conservatives with an absolute majority. On May 1, 2004, Malta joined the European Union.

literature

  • Roderick Pace: A Small State and the European Union: Malta's EU Accession Experience. South European Society and Politics 2002, 7 (1): 24-42. doi : 10.1080 / 714004965
  • Dominic Fenech: The 2003 Maltese EU referendum and general election . West European Politics 2003, 26 (3): 163-170. doi : 10.1080 / 01402380312331280638

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Chronology: Malta and the European Union. English Department of the University of Siegen, accessed on December 20, 2013 (English).
  2. ^ Martin Debattista: A History of Malta-EU relations. maltamedia.com, accessed December 20, 2013 .
  3. ^ The outcome of the Copenhagen Summit. Euractiv.com, January 15, 2003, accessed December 20, 2013 .
  4. Malta first in EU referendum race. BBC News, January 29, 2003, accessed December 20, 2013 .
  5. News about the 2003 Malta-EU Referendum from MaltaMedia.com. maltamedia.com, accessed December 20, 2013 .
  6. 2003 European Union Referendum. vassallomalta.com, accessed December 20, 2013 .