A referendum on the
Saar statute
The Saar Statute was a Franco-West German agreement signed in 1954 which resulted from lengthy diplomatic negotiations between France and West Germany. It helped to pave the way for a more modern Europe following post World War II tensions and geo ...
was held in the
Saar Protectorate
The Saar Protectorate (german: Saarprotektorat ; french: Protectorat de la Sarre) officially Saarland (french: Sarre) was a French protectorate separated from Germany; which was later opposed by the Soviet Union, one side occupying Germany lik ...
on 23 October 1955.
[Results of the referendum on the Saar Statute]
CVCE The statute would have made the territory an independent polity under the auspices of a European
Commissioner, to be appointed by the Council of Ministers of the
Western European Union
The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
, while remaining in the
economic union
An economic union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a common market with a customs union. The participant countries have both common policies on product regulation, freedom of movement of goods, services and the factors of produc ...
with
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Its rejection by voters was taken as an indication that they would rather reunite with
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
[Rearmament and the European Defense Community]
Library of Congress Country Studies On 27 October 1956 France and West Germany concluded the
Saar Treaty
The Saar Treaty, or Treaty of Luxembourg ( German: ''Vertrag von Luxemburg'', French: ''accords de Luxembourg'') is an agreement between West Germany and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily lo ...
establishing that Saarland should be allowed to join West Germany as provided by article 23 of its constitution (
Grundgesetz
The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...
). Saarland subsequently became a
state of Germany with effect from 1 January 1957.
[
]
Results
By constituency
References
{{Authority control
Saar
Politics of Saarland
Referendums in Germany
Saar Statute referendum
Saar
Saar
Statute referendum
Saar
Saar