Malta formally applied to join the European Union in July 1990. Twelve years had passed and the island nation was never closer to becoming a member of the bloc. Only two things stood between Malta and membership on 1st May 2004: the referendum on membership and a general election.

On March 8, 2003, Malta held its referendum on European Union membership. This made it the first among nine countries calling on their citizens to show their support, or lack of it, for the accession of their country on May 1, 2004.

Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami announced the date of the referendum on January 29. From then on the whole country embarked in a fiercely-fought campaign divided between the YES campaign, led by the Nationalist Party in government, and the NO campaign, championed by the Malta Labour Party in Opposition which proposed an alternative relationship with the EU, what it calls "partnership"

In the referendum, held on 8th March 2003 the majority of the Maltese expressed their opinion of Malta joining the European Union. This was confirmed by a snap general election on 12th April 2003.

This paved the way for the signing of the Accession Treaty by Malta on 16th April 2003 in Athens and its subsequent ratification by the Maltese Parliament. Preparations for Malta's official accession on 1st May 2004 could thus continue in full swing.

In this MaltaMedia special feature we look at Malta-EU relations, going back as far as the 1950's. However we will concentrate on what happened in the last 12 years that witnessed a divided Maltese nation seeking closer relations with the EU, being it full membership or a sort of closer partnership.