POLITICS-HUNGARY: Overwhelming Majority Votes for EU Membership

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Bela Ladanyi

BUDAPEST, Apr 14 2003 (IPS) - Though Hungary has been supporting the U.S. on its war in Iraq and recently came under fire from European leaders, the Hungarians confirmed at the weekend that they see themselves very much as part of Europe.

The overwhelming majority of Hungarians voted last Saturday in favour of Hungary’s accession to the European Union, approving the completion of the country’s transformation into a democracy and its long-desired integration into Europe.

Close to 84 percent of participating Hungarians said "yes" to EU (European Union) entry at the referendum, which is considered an outstanding result and gives a convincing authorization to the Hungarian government to ink the accession treaty with EU leaders on April 16 in Athens.

Becoming a full member of the EU as of May 1 next year, Hungary is closing a twelve-year period of negotiations with the EU and ending nearly fifteen years of economic and political transformation from a centrally led country of the former socialist bloc into a parliamentary democracy with a functioning market economy.

Hungary is formally joining the EU after it served as a forced ally of the former Soviet Union between the end of the Second World War and the late 1980s. Until the end of First World War it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for centuries.

"Hungary had been drifting as a ‘ferry country’ between East and West for centuries, but now it is finally ready to touch land, the chance of coming into port is near; Europe is waiting for Hungary," Prime Minister Medgyessy cited Hungary’s emblematic 20th-century poet Endre Ady in his speech after the poll results were announced on Saturday.

The authorities and all four parliamentary parties welcomed the result of Saturday’s referendum and people in Budapest celebrated the outcome in public events, which featured fireworks above the River Danube, concerts and a unique video performance.

But the overall turnout of the referendum was not something to celebrate as more than half of Hungary’s eight million voting citizens neglected the poll and opted to stay at home. While the government and opposition parties blamed each other for the lower-than-expected turnout, analysts said they believe it was rather the favourable weekend weather that kept potential voters away from the poll.

"Hungary’s referendum on accession to the European Union was successful and the joy over the positive result of the referendum should not be ruined by claims that participation was too low," Medgyessy said. He pointed out that roughly three million Hungarians or 38 percent of the entire voting population voted in favour of accession.

Medgyessy also turned down on the accusations of opposition parties that the European Union Public Foundation (EUKK), which the government created last year to carry out an information and promotion campaign about the EU before the referendum, failed to create a convincing campaign.

Between early February and mid-April, EUKK spent about 8 million dollars on printed brochures, leaflets, television advertising, mobile phone messages and a letter sent to four million households promoting EU membership.

Hungary was the third of the ten accession countries that held a referendum on EU accession after Malta and Slovenia, both of which gave a nod to accession earlier in March. In contrast to the Maltese and Slovenian votes, the result of Hungary’s referendum is binding for the Hungarian government, which is scheduled to sign the accession treaty in Athens along with the governments of nine other candidate countries.

In their reactions to Hungary’s referendum, the government representatives of peer accession countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, welcomed Hungary’s decision, but also expressed their concerns that turnover may be similarly low at their future referenda.

The future EU membership promises a lot to most Hungarians, according to the latest public survey by the Hungarian Gallup Institute. More than 40 percent of Hungarians expect EU membership to bring them personal advantages, a raise in wages, more stable system of social security and pension payments, lower taxes and alternative employment opportunities in the EU.

Though many of the young Hungarians did not participate in the referendum, most of them believe that they will have a number of opportunities to enrol higher education institutions abroad and also easily find jobs in EU countries after Hungary joins next year.

But rosy expectations on EU membership are probably unfounded, according to the roughly 16 percent of Hungarian voters, who said "no" to EU in the referendum and are represented by a few Hungary’s anti-EU political groups.

Organizations opposing EU entry include the Szabad Magyarországért Mozgalom (Movement for a Free Hungary) and Jobbik Mozgalom (Movement for a Better Hungary), which started a "no" campaign a few days before the EU poll disseminating posters and distributing leaflets with captions such as "You can vote with a NO, too".

Most anti-EU organizations in Hungary are rather fragmented right-wing political groups that represent small businesses and agricultural producers, who fear the implications of competition in the EU market. Also believed to be endangered by EU accession are the domestic real estate market and the market of arable land.

Hungary’s conservative Prime Minister between 1998 and 2002, Viktor Orbán said that Hungary’s efforts of the following period would have to ensure that all Hungarians would become winners of EU accession, which he said would not happen automatically.

"Now I can say that Europe is our future, but Hungary remains our home," Orbán said, adding that the division between those voting in favour and against EU membership should be eliminated soon.