EU Treaty Referendums: A Timeline from 1972 to Today

Since 1972, European countries have held dozens of national referendums on European integration: on joining the European Communities or the EU, on ratifying treaties from the Single European Act to Lisbon, and on special questions such as the euro or opt-outs. Most of them were approved, but several ended with a No, and some led to a second vote on a revised package. There has never been a single EU-wide referendum: every vote took place under national law and national rules.

The timeline below lists the main votes. It records the subject and the outcome only. Exact figures and turnout are published by the electoral authority of each country.

Timeline

Year	Country	Subject	Outcome
1972	France	Enlargement of the European Communities	Yes
1972	Ireland	Accession to the European Communities	Yes
1972	Norway	Accession	No
1972	Denmark	Accession	Yes
1975	United Kingdom	Continued membership	Yes (remain)
1982	Greenland	Withdrawal from the EC	Majority for withdrawal (left in 1985)
1986	Denmark	Single European Act	Yes
1987	Ireland	Single European Act	Yes
1989	Italy	Consultative vote on a constituent mandate for the European Parliament	Yes
1992	Denmark	Maastricht Treaty	No
1992	Ireland	Maastricht Treaty	Yes
1992	France	Maastricht Treaty	Yes (narrowly)
1992	Switzerland	European Economic Area	No
1993	Denmark	Maastricht Treaty with the Edinburgh opt-outs	Yes
1994	Austria, Finland, Sweden	Accession	Yes
1994	Norway	Accession	No
1998	Ireland, Denmark	Treaty of Amsterdam	Yes
2000	Denmark	Joining the euro	No
2001	Ireland	Treaty of Nice	No
2002	Ireland	Treaty of Nice (second vote)	Yes
2003	Malta, Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia	Accession	Yes
2003	Sweden	Joining the euro	No
2005	Spain, Luxembourg	Constitutional Treaty	Yes
2005	France, Netherlands	Constitutional Treaty	No
2008	Ireland	Treaty of Lisbon	No
2009	Ireland	Treaty of Lisbon (second vote)	Yes
2012	Croatia	Accession	Yes
2012	Ireland	Fiscal Stability Treaty	Yes
2015	Denmark	Replacing the justice and home affairs opt-out	No
2016	Netherlands	EU–Ukraine Association Agreement (advisory)	No
2016	United Kingdom	Membership of the EU	Leave
2022	Denmark	Abolishing the defence opt-out	Yes

The list concentrates on accession, membership and treaty questions. It does not include every referendum with a European dimension.

Patterns behind the timeline

National constitutions decide, not the EU

EU treaties enter into force only after every member state has ratified them according to its own constitution. Most do so in parliament. Referendums happen where the constitution requires one (Ireland, often Denmark) or where a government or parliament chooses to hold one (France, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg, the UK). An overview of national rules is on referendums in Europe.

Ireland’s special role

After a 1987 Supreme Court judgment, Ireland has put each major EU treaty change to a vote, because significant treaty changes require an amendment to the Irish Constitution and every amendment needs a referendum. That explains the long Irish series from the Single European Act to the Fiscal Stability Treaty.

No votes and second votes

Three times, a No was followed by a second referendum after the package had been supplemented: Denmark in 1993 (opt-outs agreed in Edinburgh), Ireland in 2002 (Nice, with a declaration on neutrality) and Ireland in 2009 (Lisbon, with legal guarantees). After the French and Dutch No votes in 2005, the Constitutional Treaty was not put to a second vote but replaced by the Treaty of Lisbon. The background is explained in the EU Constitutional Treaty of 2004.

Votes outside the EU

Norway twice voted against accession, and Switzerland voted against joining the European Economic Area in 1992. Both countries have since developed close relations with the EU by other means.

Why there is no EU-wide referendum

The EU treaties contain no procedure for a binding Union-wide popular vote. Proposals for such a vote have been discussed in academic and political debate for decades, but adopting one would itself require a treaty change ratified by all member states. The instrument that does exist at EU level is the European Citizens’ Initiative, which allows citizens to invite the Commission to propose legislation, but does not lead to a vote.

How to read the results

• Binding or advisory: some of the votes in the table were legally binding, others advisory. The Dutch votes of 2005 and 2016, for example, were consultative.
• Thresholds: some countries apply turnout or approval quorums. Details on What is a referendum?.
• Sources: for exact figures, consult the electoral authority of the country concerned or academic databases such as the Centre for Research on Direct Democracy (C2D).

This page describes outcomes and procedures. It does not assess whether any of these decisions was right.