Nation Votes to Join European Union

Estonians voted overwhelmingly to join the European Union, crowning the small Baltic nation’s break with its Soviet past.

With all votes counted, the “yes” camp had 66.9% of the vote, the election commission said. The balloting was seen by many as the culmination of more than a decade of painful reforms aimed at returning Estonia to mainstream Europe, despite fears that Estonia’s dynamic economy might get bogged down in EU red tape.

“Spring has arrived in Estonia -- we’re back in Europe,” Prime Minister Juhan Parts said. “We will stay Estonian, but with this emotional feeling that we will belong to a family ... a family of the European people.”