1994 Norwegian European Union membership referendum

A referendum on joining the European Union was held in Norway on 27 and 28 November 1994.[1][2][3] After a long period of heated debate, the "no" side won with 52.2 per cent of the vote, on a turnout of 88.6 per cent. Membership of what was then the European Community had previously been rejected in a 1972 referendum, and by French veto in 1962.

1994 Norwegian European Union membership referendum
(1994-11-27) (1994-11-28)27–28 November 1994
Should Norway become a member of the EU (European Union)?
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Yes 1,389,997 47.82%
No 1,516,803 52.18%
Valid votes 2,906,800 99.88%
Invalid or blank votes 3,571 0.12%
Total votes 2,910,321 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 3,266,064 89.11%
Results by county
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Campaign

The "No" campaign was led by Anne Enger Lahnstein, leader of the Centre Party.[4] The main themes of the "No" campaign were loss of sovereignty if Norway should join the Union, as well as the fundamental differences in economic structure between Norway and the EU, as Norway has an economy based heavily on natural resources (especially oil and fish), in contrast to the EU's more industrial economy.

Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland led the "Yes" campaign. Her party, the Labour Party, was divided on the question of Norwegian membership of the Union. Unlike Trygve Bratteli in 1972, she refused to threaten to resign if the referendum failed to result in a "Yes" vote, on the grounds that more serious divisions could have arisen in the Labour Party. The main arguments of the "Yes" side were that as a European country, Norway belonged in the European Union, and that Norway's economy would benefit from membership.

According to John Erik Fossum, a political science professor at ARENA, Centre for European Studies, University of Oslo, "the fact that Norway had already signed the EEA agreement made it easier for people to vote no because they knew that Norway had assured EU market access."[5]

Debates
1994 Norwegian EU membership debates
Date Time Organizers  P  Present    I  Invitee  N  Non-invitee 
Ap H Sp Sv KrF Frp V R Refs
25. november 00:00 NRK P
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Thorbjørn Jagland		 P
Jan Petersen		 P
Anne Enger Lahnstein		 P
Erik Solheim		 P
Kjell Magne Bondevik		 P
Carl I. Hagen		 P
Odd Einar Dørum		 P
Aksel Nærstad		 [6]
I NY
9. november 1994 00:00 NRK and Student Society in Trondheim P
Thorbjørn Berntsen		 P
John G. Bernander		 P
Marit Arnstad		 P
Erik Solheim		 N
 N
 P
Rune Haaland		 P
Heidi Sørensen		 [7]
SME LO
14. november 1994 00:00 NRK at Fokus Kino P
Gro Harlem Brundtlan		 P
Kaci Kullmann Five		 P
Johan J. Jakobsen		 N
 P
Kjell Magne Bondevik		 N P
Tove Strand		 P
Yngve Hågensen		 [8]
SME UN
23. november 1994 00:00 NRK P
Thorbjørn Jagland		 P
Jan Petersen		 P
Anne Enger Lahnstein		 P
Stein Ørnhøi		 N N P
Hallvard Bakke		 P
Thorvald Stoltenberg		 [9]

Official party positions
For a 'Yes' vote For a 'No' vote

Results

Countrywide
Norwegian European Union membership referendum, 1994[10][11]
Choice Votes  %
Referendum failed No 1,516,803 52.2
Yes 1,389,997 47.8
Valid votes 2,906,750 99.9
Invalid or blank votes 3,571 0.1
Total votes 2,910,321 100.00
Registered voters/turnout 3,266,064 89.0

By constituency
Constituency Electorate Spoilt votes Total poll (%) Yes (%) No (%)
Østfold 185,441 307 163,338 (88) 87,390 (54) 75,998 (46)
Akershus 322,029 443 293,331 (91) 187,126 (64) 106,205 (36)
Oslo 360,340 497 317,585 (88) 211,550 (67) 106,035 (33)
Hedmark 146,468 215 129,674 (89) 55,367 (43) 74,307 (57)
Oppland 142,911 251 126,245 (88) 55,702 (44) 70,543 (56)
Buskerud 174,271 240 154,345 (89) 88,281 (57) 66,064 (43)
Vestfold 155,338 123 138,099 (89) 78,698 (57) 59,401 (43)
Telemark 125,401 106 110,136 (88) 46,478 (42) 63,658 (58)
Aust-Agder 73,841 68 64,927 (88) 28,805 (44) 36,122 (56)
Vest-Agder 108,226 58 96,318 (89) 43,947 (46) 52,371 (54)
Rogaland 251,790 166 227,485 (90) 103,066 (45) 124,419 (55)
Hordaland 313,511 244 281,543 (90) 122,942 (44) 158,601 (56)
Sogn og Fjordane 80,104 52 71,650 (89) 22,761 (32) 48,889 (68)
Møre og Romsdal 180,426 178 160,713 (89) 61,715 (38) 98,998 (62)
Sør-Trøndelag 194,869 239 171,007 (88) 77,035 (45) 93,972 (55)
Nord-Trøndelag 96,344 50 86,110 (89) 31,018 (36) 55,092 (64)
Nordland 183,703 226 162,474 (88) 46,394 (29) 116,080 (71)
Troms 113,840 57 101,428 (89) 28,860 (28) 72,568 (72)
Finnmark 57,211 51 50,342 (88) 12,862 (26) 37,480 (74)
Source: Dataset European Election Database Archived 2020-08-31 at the Wayback Machine

See also

References
  1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1438 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Bjørklund, Tor (1997). "Old and New Patterns: The 'No' Majority in the 1972 and 1994 EC/EU Referendums in Norway". Acta Sociologica. 40 (2): 143–159. doi:10.1177/000169939704000202. ISSN 0001-6993. JSTOR 4201020. S2CID 143540692. Archived from the original on 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  3. Fossum, John Erik (2019-08-28). "Norway and the European Union". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1043. ISBN 978-0-19-022863-7. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  4. Biography on Norwegian government's website Archived 2014-11-05 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
  5. Fossum, John Erik (2019). "What is the Norway Model? Mode of Affiliation or Political Compromise?". The Political Quarterly. 90 (2): 266–273. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.12684. hdl:10852/77098. ISSN 1467-923X. S2CID 159421286. Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  6. "Folkeavstemningen om EU 1994. Partilederdebatt". 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  7. "Debatt 21 med EU-folkemøte fra Trondheim". 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  8. "Debatt 21 med EU-folkemøte i Tromsø". 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  9. "Debatt 21 med EU-møte fra Oslo". 10 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  10. Folkeavstemningene om EU og EF. Fylkesvis Archived 2012-09-01 at the Wayback Machine Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
  11. Folkeavstemningen om EU Statistics Norway (in Norwegian)
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