Referendum on Latvia Joining the European Union

Referendum on Latvia Joining the European Union

20 September 2003
 

THE REFERENDUM PROCEDURE

In accordance with the decision of the Parliament of Latvia (Saeima), the referendum on Latvia-s membership of the European Union will take place on September 20, 2003 - a Saturday. 

On 8 May, the Saeima approved amendments to the Latvian Constitution and to the Law on Intiating Referenda and Other Legislation, thereby establishing the legal foundation for the referendum.

The amendments specify that Latvia-s membership of the EU must be determined in a referendum initiated by the Saeima. An affirmative vote will be considered as having been cast if:

1) at least half of all the electors that participated in the last Saeima elections take part in the referendum, and

2) of these, a majority vote for Latvia's accession to the EU.

As 995 085 valid votes were cast in the most recent (8th) Saeima elections, the accession referendum will be considered valid if at least 497 543 electors (35.14% of the total) participate (overall, 1 415 629 persons are eligible to vote in the referendum: of these, 1 383 340 reside in Latvia and 32 289 abroad)[1].

If the first of the above conditions is fulfilled, the result will depend on which of the two possible referendum responses garners simple majority support; that is, support for EU membership will have been affirmed if at least a half plus one of all participants in the referendum vote "Yes". Approval for membership will not have been given if exactly one half or less than all referendum participants vote in favour.

Polling stations will be open on the day of referendum from 7 a.m. till 10 p.m. All voters have the option of voting at any polling station in Latvia or abroad. In order to cast their ballot, voters need to bring with them a valid Latvian citizen passport, which will be stamped to indicate participation in the referendum.

Referendum Press Centre

Ms. Inese Auniņa tel. 7087218; 9283034 (mob.)

Central Election Commission

Ms. Ramona Petrika tel. 7087265

PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS

According to a survey conducted by pollster InMind at the second week of September 2003, 56.5% of potential referendum participants said they would vote in favour of Latvia joining the European Union, with 23.9% against and 19.6% as yet undecided.

More than nine tenths (91.1%) of those eligible to vote were planning to participate in the referendum.

The groups of survey participants most often expressing support for Latvia's accession to the EU, and of whom more than half said they would vote "for" in the referendum were:

• ethnic Latvians
• young people aged between 18 and 24
• persons living in households with a monthly income per household member exceeding LVL 101 (approx. EUR 160)  persons with higher education
• school and university students
• the self-employed
• top and medium-level executives
• housewives.

By contrast, the main groups opposed to accession were:

• non-citizens of Latvia and members of non-Latvian ethnic groups
• persons of comparatively low or average income (from households with a monthly income per household member of less than LVL 50 (approx. EUR 78))
• persons with a basic or unfinished secondary education
• residents of Riga and Latgale; the middle-aged and seniors (aged between 40 and 74 years) workers
• pensioners
• the unemployed.

Among the arguments most commonly employed by eurosceptics were:

• the anticipated loss of sovereignty and independence, should responsibility for key decisions be transferred to institutions outside Latvia in which other countries (for example, France and Germany) hold the greatest influence
• the loss of a degree of democracy, arguing that European Commission bureaucrats have the most significant power in the EU
• an increase in prices and the tax burden, leading to a decline in welfare in Latvia.

PRE-REFERENDUM CAMPAIGN

Official responsibility for managing the pre-referendum public information campaign belongs to the Government Task Force Latvija Eiropā (Latvia in Europe), established on 16 January 2003 by a decision of the Cabinet of Ministers. The work of the Task Force includes coordinating collaboration among state institutions during the campaign and involving community, municipal, cultural and educational organisations in public information events on the European Union.

The Task Force (also referred to as the Management Group) is assisted by the Public Advisory Council (or Consultative Council), headed by Prime Minister Einārs Repše and composed of 29 members representing various geographic regions, professions and ethnic groups.

In March, the Prime Minister approved the pre-referendum information strategy "Latvia in Europe - A Strategy for the People's Campaign. Vote for the future of Latvia.", which stated that the aim of the campaign was to provide the people of Latvia with objective and comprehensive information on the European Union, as well as deepen understanding of and promote discussion on the advantages and risks for Latvia associated with accession. The strategy aims to reduce the proportion of undecided voters by having the campaign specifically address their concerns, as well as ensure a maximum turnout on referendum day by emphasizing that voting is the personal responsibility of each citizen. To achieve its objectives, the People's Campaign has enlisted the participation of politicians, government and independent experts, public opinion formers and non-governmental organisations.

On 31 March, the Task Force unveiled its "100 Lecturers" training programme, designed to prepare a team of speakers competent to deliver public presentations on EU issues. Participants in the programme included, among others, members of youth organisations affiliated with political parties; representatives from social welfare organisations and NGOs; staff from the Ministries of Education and Science, Culture, the Interior, and the Environment; and members of pensioners' organisations.

The pre-referendum information campaign was officially launched with celebrations to mark Europe Week from 5-10 May, featuring a variety of informational events in various cities and regional centres across Latvia.

In late May, the Task Force launched the European Gardens project that resulted in the creation of new gardens in six of Latvia-s regions, planted with trees symbolizing Latvia and the EU member states.

On 16 May, the Task Force unveiled the Infobus, which will traverse regional Latvia up until the day of the referendum, distributing printed materials on Latvia's anticipated membership of the EU and transporting specialists associated with the People's Campaign around the country.

In the leadup to the referendum, the Task Force launched a campaign advertisement with the slogan "Nepaliec malā!"(Don't Stay on the Sidelines!) on TV and radio and in the print media on 12 August, with farmers, workers and pensioners as the three main target audiences.

The campaign advertisement consists of a running commentary by more than 20 professionals from various regions of the country on Latvia's membership of the European Union.

Altogether, 45 different publications have been produced for distribution during the events of the People's Campaign.

The Latvian government has allotted funding of LVL 1 million (approx. EUR 1.5 million) for the campaign.

To mark the significance of this decisive moment for Latvia, the People-s Campaign will conclude on the evening of 19 September with the performance in the Dom Cathedral Square in Old Riga of "A Mystery about a Dream and Love". The libretto and lyrics of this original work are by poet Māra Zālīte and music by composer Jānis Lūsēns.

Latvija Eiropā

http://www.latvija-eiropa.lv

Ms. Vija Kasakovska

tel. 7503 228 (on weekdays: 8.30 a.m.-5 p.m.)

tel. 9488 681 (mob.)

The Saeima EU Information Centre was established in 1997 under the auspices of the Saeima European Affairs Committee. The Centre aims to inform parliamentarians, the media and the general public about the latest developments in the EU.

With the approach of the referendum, the Centre launched a special Internet website (http://www.eiroinfo.lv), from which all interested persons could obtain information on various aspects of the EU accession process.

The website contains the weekly information bulletin "Euronews", fact sheets, and the most important EU-related documents, including the Accession Treaty.

The Saeima has signed a special agreement with Lattelekom on the involvement of staff from the latter-s information hotline service in the Euroinfo project, a special 24-hour telephone hotline that members of the public can call to ask questions relating to the European Union. Answers to questions are sought using special EU information and legislation databases like SERID, Celex, OJD, and EUR-Lex. The Centre has also employed 12 students from the Eurofaculty at the University of Latvia to research answers to the more complicated questions.

According to the Centre, the Euroinfo hotline had registered over 1600 calls by 22 July, averaging 12 calls per day.

The Saeima EU Information Centre

http://www.eiroinfo.lv

Ms. Ilze Luriņa

tel. 7087 365 (on weekdays: 8.30 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

The European Integration Bureau is a state agency established in 1994 to manage and co-ordinate Latvia's integration into the European Union. The Bureau operates under the direct authority of the Prime Minister.  

In the lead-up to the referendum, the Bureau has provided coordination and assistance to the Government Task Force Latvija Europā and organised seminars and lectures at the request of various government institutions and NGOs.

The Bureau was also responsible for initiating the project "European Clubs in Latvian Schools", giving school students the opportunity to learn more about integration into the EU and the Council of Europe. Nineteen European Clubs had been established across Latvia by the summer of 2003.

European Integration Bureau

http://www.eib.gov.lv

Ms. Linda Jākobsone

tel. 7503 111 (on weekdays: 8.30a.m. -5p.m.)

The President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, although not directly involved in the pre-referendum campaign, has lately made use of almost every public appearance to urge her compatriots to make an informed choice and to vote in favour of EU membership for Latvia on referendum day.

The ideal of brotherhood unites both people and nations. It was this ideal that prompted the people of the Baltic States to join hands to trace the Baltic way from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius more than a decade ago, and this same ideal will continue to unite us in future - unite us with our neighbours, the Estonians and Lithuanians, and with the other nations that stand under Europe-s blue, star-studded flag.

[From the President-s speech prior to the performance by the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra of Ludwig van Beethoven-s Symphony No. 9 and "Ode to Joy" at the Dzintari Concert Hall, 14 September 2003]

We are facing the future at a time of equinoxes. In the annual solar cycle, the 20th and 21st of September mark the autumnal equinox when day and night are of equal duration. In a sort of cosmic coincidence, on this day we must decide which direction to follow. Do we go forward, or do we stay where we are and thus risk sliding backward?... The country will have to live with the decision that all of you will have made. Therefore I urge you to consider your position carefully and not cast your vote when fleeting emotions cloud your judgment, when someone-s actions have left you feeling bitter or hurt. Don-t base your choice on worry and fear about the future, because the future is and will remain unknown.

[From the President-s address to representatives of the Latvian Country Women-s Association in Ligatne, 12 September 2003]
 

I invite you to choose Europe -- for development, for open borders, for the opportunity to stand alongside other European nations, sit with one another at the same table and offer our own inventive and creative solutions to Europe-s problems. It will be no bed of roses, it will be life, replete with numerous challenges and tasks, but we will be we will be together with all the free nations, in the milieu where we rightfully belong.

[The President-s speech at the Newly Enrolled Students- Festival (Aristotle-s Day), Dom Cathedral Square, 31 August 2003]

We Latvians take pride in being a wise and well-educated nation, and it would seem to me that these would be the qualities by which we would like to be recognised among the nations of the European Union and throughout the world. This is not an idle boast, I believe that there is basis for thinking so. Latvia was one of the first countries - or perhaps one should say European territories, because at that time, in the 17^th century, Latvia was neither a state nor an independent country - where a movement toward general literacy was begun. This was part of the Swedish monarch-s efforts to establish the foundations for Reformation and the Protestant faith.

[The President-s address at the 56th Conference of the Union of Latvian Intellectuals, "Latvia-s Education System in the European Educational Context", Riga Hall of Congresses, 22 August 2003]

President-s Chancery

http://www.president.lv

Ministries have organised events as part of the People's Campaign, as well as initiating their own separate campaigns on aspects of public life falling within their jurisdiction.

About a month before the referendum, ministries started to release information to the press on the potential benefits of EU membership for Latvia, focusing primarily on the various EU funds that could become available for the promotion of rural development, employment and infrastructure projects.

The Ministry of Environment launched its information campaign on the implications of EU accession for the environment on 9 August, with opening events scheduled to take place in Latgale, the eastern region of Latvia. In the course of the campaign, well-known environmental experts met with the public and information stands were set up in seven cities across the country. The Ministry prepared ten different information leaflets in Latvian and in Russian, each focusing on a particular aspect of the environment, such as air and water quality, waste management, organic farming and industrial pollution. Ministry officials also took part in live discussions on regional television on EU environmental issues.

For its part, the Ministry of Agriculture has scheduled a number of seminars for September, including one on "Informing the public about the opportunities and challenges the European Union presents", and published a brochure on EU agricultural policy.

Several individual ministers have involved themselves very actively in the campaign, visiting provincial towns and holding discussions with locals and the media on the changes Latvia's accession to the EU could potentially bring. On 17 July 2003, for example, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sandra Kalniete headed to the district of Ludza to take part in a discussion with residents on the EU, and to stimulate dialogue on the opportunities accession could provide for the development of Latvia's border regions.

The European Union Information Centre of the European Commission Delegation in Latvia launched the Eurohouse project to provide up-to-date information on the European Union and Latvia's integration into it. The Eurohouse - a big inflatable information tent - made a tour of 15 Latvian cities. Along with the opportunity to speak to EU experts and obtain information brochures, the Eurohouse also offered visitors the chance to participate in a quiz, and children could help put together Latvia's biggest puzzle: a large-format map of Europe.

On 24 July, the European Commission Delegation in Latvia signed agreements with eight non-governmental organisations, granting them a total of EUR 225 000 in funding for individual EU promotional campaigns. The projects are financed under the PHARE Small Projects Programme, which has been providing funding to non-governmental and non-profit organisations for EU information campaigns and the promotion of Latvia's integration into the EU since 1998.

http://www.eiropainfo.lv

Mr Artis Puriņš

tel. 7212 611 (Mon 3 p.m.-7 p.m., Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri 11 a.m. -6 p.m.)

The Society Integration Foundation has allocated a total of LVL 143 000 (approx. EUR 224 000) for 37 projects, to be implemented by non-governmental organisations, municipalities, and educational and cultural institutions for promoting public awareness and discussion on EU membership. The winning proposals, selected by competitive tender, included ones put forward by the Farmer Information Bureau, Free Trade Union Federation of Latvia, APEIRONS - An Organisation of People with Disabilities and their Friends, Liepaja NGO Centre, and the PROVIDUS Centre for Public Policy.

http://www.lsif.lv

Ms. Sanita Pušpure

tel. 7281 752 (weekdays :9 a.m. -5 p.m.)

The European Movement - Latvia, founded on 20 May 1997, is a non-governmental organisation whose main objective is to assist with Latvia's accession to the European Union and strengthen the unity of a democratic Europe. The Movement has been a National Chapter of the International European Movement since February 21, 1998.

The European Movement Latvia launched a campaign on the European Union in parallel to the People's Campaign on 25 February, with the aim of boosting public support for EU membership ahead of the referendum. Its main target audiences were business people, other NGOs and the elderly. An information centre for NGOs has been established as part of the campaign.

http://www.eiropaskustiba.lv/

Mr Māris Slokenbergs

tel. 7281 752 (weekdays :9 a.m. -5 p.m.)

tel. 9242 110 (mob.)

NGOs have been actively involved in the information campaign, organising various activities to inform members of the professional and interest groups that they represent. For example, the Latvian Traders' Association has organised ten seminars in Latvian cities and towns on "What should traders know about the European Union?" The aim of the seminar was to inform owners and executives of trading and catering companies about the new requirements and standards that will come into force if Latvia joins the EU.

From 17 May until 25 August, the Latvian Sport Schools Federation held 13 sports events across the country, at which information tents were set up, agitating for support for Latvia's membership in the EU.

A letter was published on 4 September at the initiative of poet Māra Zālīte, calling on the people of Latvia to vote in favour of EU accession. The letter was signed by 102 Latvian intellectuals, among them composer Pēteris Vasks; President of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Jānis Stradiņš; and Head of the Latvian Institute and former Latvian Ambassador to the United States, Ojārs Kalniņš. The letter cites the referendum as another step forward in the restoration and consolidation of the country's independence, echoing the spirit of the movement for national renewal that arose in Latvia at the end of the 1980s.

Among youth organisations, the most active proponent of a united Europe has been Klubs 'Māja' (Club 'House'). In March it was one of the initiators and organisers of the Latvian Youth Convention on the Future of Europe, in which the youth of Latvia debated and formulated their vision for the future of a united Europe.

Klubs 'Māja' also held a summer camp called 'New Europe', giving students from all over Latvia the chance to come together and discuss recent developments in the European Union and Latvia's role in these processes.

On 9 September, the Latvian Students' Association organised a student referendum on Latvia's membership of the European Union. Of the total of 10 653 students who cast their vote, 58.3% voted in favour of membership and 41.7% against.

Among the NGOs, associations and foundations that have called on the public to vote in favour of EU membership are:

• Pensioners' Federation of Latvia (Latvijas Pensionāru federācija)

• Latvian Foundation for National Defence Lāčplēsis (Latvijas Valsts aizsardzības fonds "Lāčplēsis")

• Latvian Association of Free Trades Union (Latvijas Brīvo arodbiedrību savienība)

• Latvian Association of University and College Professors (Latvijas Augstskolu profesoru asociācija)

• Latvian Confederation of Employers (Latvijas Darba devēju konfederācija)

• Latvian Economic Council (Latvijas Tautsaimniecības padome)

NGO Centre

Ms. Ilze Šēfere

tel. 7297 372 (weekdays 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

Klubs 'Māja'

Ms. Ilze Garoza tel. 9123 329 (mob.)

Mr Rinalds Konovaļenko tel. 6553 436 (mob.)

Latvian Traders' Association

Mr Henriks Danusēvičs

tel. 7297 372 (weekdays 9 a.m. - 5p.m.)

tel. 9548 484 (mob.)

[1] On 7 July 2003 (Central Election Commission)