This year marks the 50th anniversary of accession to the former European Communities by Ireland and Denmark. The path to membership was not smooth for either country, with their first two applications made in 1961 and 1967, together with the United Kingdom, effectively blocked by French opposition. With a change of government in France, the six members of the European Communities reaffirmed their agreement to the enlargement of the Communities, and negotiations on membership began with Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom (UK). In Denmark, Ireland and Norway, referendums were held to decide on possible membership. The Danish and Irish people voted 'yes', while citizens in Norway narrowly rejected membership, with 53.5 % voting 'no'. On 1 January 1973, Denmark and Ireland (along with the UK) officially became members of the European Communities after more than a decade of negotiations. Over time, Treaty ratification referendums took place in other countries too, but were most concentrated in Ireland (7) and Denmark (4). In fact, Ireland remains unique in this sense as the only Member State that has held a referendum on every major Treaty revision since voting in 1972 to become a member. This was the first enlargement of the European Economic Community (EEC), bringing membership from the original six to nine members. It also meant that the number of Members of the European Parliament rose from 142 to 198, which represented an increase of nearly 40 %. This paper looks at the background to the decision to seek membership of the European Communities, examining the economic and political conditions that caused Ireland and Denmark to seek to become Member States. It also discusses key features of EU membership: for Ireland, the decision to join the euro and its relationship with the Schengen Agreement; and for Denmark, the opt-outs introduced with the advent of the Maastricht Treaty.
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- Belgium
