Malta says 'yes' to EU in referendum

Malta has voted in favour of joining the EU after a bitterly fought referendum.

Preliminary final results released last night showed that 53.6 per centof voters on the Mediterranean island were in favour of joining the EU in May next year. A total of 46.4 per cent voted against the move.

Lawrence Gonzi, the Deputy Prime Minister, said it was "a great moment of satisfaction" and "a great and historic victory for the country". He added: "The vote shows that the electorate has given a clear-cut indication that it wanted the country to join Europe."

The island was the first of the 10 nations that are due to join the EU to hold a referendum, and the poll result will be a relief to EU officials. Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, said the result boded well for ratification in other countries.

The vote in the former British colony was non-binding, meaning the government could theoretically ignore it. But a rejection of membership would have been a major embarrassment for Edward Fenech Adami, the Prime Minister.

Of all the new entrants, Malta is the most divided on the issue of EU membership, and the only one in which the leading opposition party was against the move.

Other applicant countries had feared that a "no" in Malta would spur on their Eurosceptic factions. The remaining countries plan to hold referendums with the exception of Cyprus. It will only do so if there is a deal to reunite the divided island. Slovenia is the next applicant country to go to the polls on 23 March.

Joseph Saliba, general secretary of the ruling Nationalist Party, embraced colleagues and made a victory sign to television cameras as the mood among party members swung from uncertainty to relief. Party supporters celebrated noisily in the streets of Valletta, honking car horns and waving Maltese and European flags.

The opposition Labour Party had urged its supporters either to cast a "no" vote, spoil the ballot paper or abstain. Alfred Sant, the Labour leader had argued that Malta would lose its sovereignty if it joined the EU. He said Malta's fate should be decided in a general election.