Abstract
This chapter provides a comparison of referendum practices in 28 European countries. It assesses which types of referendum and associated provisions are provided for, and provides an overview of the number and types of referendum(s) held between 1950 and 2017. The chapter shows that referendums triggered by representative bodies are most commonly provided for and used. While politicians can trigger a national referendum in all 23 countries where the constitution contains provisions for its use, citizens can currently only do so in ten, mainly Central and Eastern, EU countries. Moreover, when outlier cases Italy and Ireland are excluded, almost all optional referendums in the ‘old’ EU members were triggered by a political majority. Hence, these observations counterbalance the claim of a direct participatory shift.
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Notes
- 1.
This does not apply to the Netherlands where, between July 2015 and July 2018, referendums could only be held by a legislative act when triggered by citizens.
- 2.
For that reason, it is not a legislative minority referendum in the strictest sense. However, the initiating power resides in the legislative minority rather than citizens.
- 3.
Such referendums triggered by regional councils are strictly speaking no legislative minority referendums, as they are not triggered by a minority in the national parliament. Yet, they are triggered by a minority of regional councils and hence, a minority of regional representatives.
- 4.
In France, a legislative minority of two-fifths plus one can also trigger a referendum on EU enlargement indirectly. It can only do this by not supporting a motion triggered by the majority that states that the enlargement treaty must be ratified by a parliamentary act.
- 5.
In Portugal, citizens can request to parliament to hold a referendum. However, such a popular proposal to hold a referendum takes the form of a draft resolution and, as such, can be refused by parliament. Therefore, this form is not labelled as a citizens’ initiated referendum.
- 6.
In impeachment referendums, citizens vote on representatives rather than issues. When referendums on representatives are triggered by citizens, they are labelled as recall referendums. As the impeachment referendums in Austria, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania are triggered by the constitution and representatives, they are not considered as pure recalls.
- 7.
And in Hungary, a referendum on sovereignty transfer was provided for in the pre-2011 constitution but was abandoned afterwards.
- 8.
Yet, given the proportionality of the Danish polity, Danish opposition parties do play an important role in this process as well, since the support of a relatively large number of parties is necessary to form a political majority.
- 9.
For the EU17, all referendums held in democratic regimes from 1950 onwards were counted, while for the CEECs only those referendums were counted that were held from 1989 onwards.
- 10.
There are no countries where the constitution does not contain national referendum provisions, but where they are nevertheless frequently held on an ad hoc basis.
- 11.
Yet, a referendum was scheduled on the TCE but cancelled after the French and Dutch ‘no’.
- 12.
Three referendums were held in the German Democratic Republic; yet, since these referendums were held under Soviet rule, these are not included.
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Hollander, S. (2019). Referendum Provisions and Use in 28 Countries. In: The Politics of Referendum Use in European Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04197-7_4
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