Norwegian European Union membership referendum, 1994

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A referendum on whether Norway should join the European Union was held on 28 November 1994. 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 and 1967.

The "No" campaign was led by Anne Enger Lahnstein, leader of the Centre Party.^[1] 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. 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, and that Norway's economy would benefit from membership.

Result

Countrywide

Norwegian European Union membership referendum, 1994[2][3]
Choice	Votes	Percentage
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%
Voter turnout	89.0%
Electorate	3,266,064

By constituency

Constituency	Electorate	Spoilt votes	Total poll (%)	For (%)	Against (%)
Østfold	185441 !185,441	307	88 !163,338 (88)	54 !87,390 (54)	46 !75,998 (46)
Akershus	322029 !322,029	443	293331 !293,331 (91)	64 !187,126 (64)	36 !106,205 (36)
Oslo	360340 !360,340	497	88 !317,585 (88)	67 !211,550 (67)	33 !106,035 (33)
Hedmark	146468 !146,468	215	89 !129,674 (89)	43 !55,367 (43)	57 !74,307 (57)
Oppland	142911 !142,911	251	88 !126,245 (88)	44 !55,702 (44)	56 !70,543 (56)
Buskerud	174271 !174,271	240	89 !154,345 (89)	57 !88,281 (57)	43 !66,064 (43)
Vestfold	155338 !155,338	123	89 !138,099 (89)	57 !78,698 (57)	43 !59,401 (43)
Telemark	125401 !125,401	106	88 !110,136 (88)	42 !46,478 (42)	58 !63,658 (58)
Aust-Agder	073841 !73,841	68	88 !64,927 (88)	44 !28,805 (44)	56 !36,122 (56)
Vest-Agder	108226 !108,226	58	89 !96,318 (89)	46 !43,947 (46)	54 !52,371 (54)
Rogaland	251790 !251,790	166	90 !227,485 (90)	45 !103,066 (45)	55 !124,419 (55)
Hordaland	313511 !313,511	244	90 !281,543 (90)	44 !122,942 (44)	56 !158,601 (56)
Sogn og Fjordane	080104 !80,104	52	89 !71,650 (89)	32 !22,761 (32)	68 !48,889 (68)
Møre og Romsdal	180426 !180,426	178	89 !160,713 (89)	38 !61,715 (38)	62 !98,998 (62)
Sør-Trøndelag	194869 !194,869	239	88 !171,007 (88)	45 !77,035 (45)	55 !93,972 (55)
Nord-Trøndelag	096344 !96,344	50	89 !86,110 (89)	36 !31,018 (36)	64 !55,092 (64)
Nordland	183703 !183,703	226	88 !162,474 (88)	29 !46,394 (29)	71 !116,080 (71)
Troms	113840 !113,840	57	89 !101,428 (89)	28 !28,860 (28)	72 !72,568 (72)
Finnmark	057211 !57,211	51	88 !50,342 (88)	26 !12,862 (26)	74 !37,480 (74)

See also

• Norway and the European Union

References

1. ^ Biography on Norwegian government's website (Norwegian)
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]

External links

• The European Movement in Norway
• No to the EU - Norwegian eurosceptics
• Norway. EU Referendum 1994, Electoral Geography 2.0 website