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14 September 2003 (2003-09-14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Are you in favour of joining the European Union and adopting amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by county Results by municipality
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A referendum took place on 14 September 2003 to decide whetherEstonia should join theEuropean Union (EU). Just over two-thirds of voters voted Yes and Estonia joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
As of 2025, this was the most recent referendum in Estonia.
Membership of the European Union was one of the main objectives ofEstonian 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 inCopenhagen in December 2002.[1] TheParliament of Estonia then announced that a referendum on membership of the EU would be held in mid September 2003.[2]
The question to be voted on in the referendum was agreed by theGovernment of Estonia in December 2002.[3] It was:
Are you in favour of the accession to the European Union and passage of theAct on Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia?[4]
Opinion polls in the first half of 2003 showed only lukewarm support for membership. This persuaded leading politicians includingPresidentArnold Rüütel,Prime MinisterJuhan Parts and theSpeaker of ParliamentEne Ergma to start campaigning hard for a Yes vote.[5]
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 theEstonian economy. Opponents also argued that Estonia should not go straight from one union, theSoviet Union, into the EU.[6]
The Yes campaign had strong media, political and financial backing with theEstonian Centre Party being the only leading party against entry into the EU.[5]Posters for the Yes campaign predominated, with one poster handed out by theRes Publica Party calling for Estonians to vote Yes 'for access to millions of sexier men'.[7][8] As the vote neared, polls showed increasing support for the Yes camp with one poll showing 70% support for EU entry.[9]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 369,657 | 66.83 | |
| Against | 183,454 | 33.17 | |
| Total | 553,111 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 553,111 | 99.51 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 2,724 | 0.49 | |
| Total votes | 555,835 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 867,714 | 64.06 | |
| Source:EU Referendum 2003 | |||
