Estonians yesterday voted overwhelmingly to join the European Union in a referendum.
With all votes counted, the "Yes" camp had 66.9 per cent of the vote, with the "No" camp trailing at 33.1 per cent, the election commission said. Total turnout was 63 per cent.
"Spring has arrived in Estonia - we're back in Europe," Prime Minister Juhan Parts told a news conference.
The vote was seen by many as crowning more than a decade of painful reforms to return to mainstream Europe and escape the country's Soviet past, despite some fears that Estonia's dynamic and liberal economy might get bogged down in EU red tape.
Estonia will be a minnow in the enlarged EU, but politicians say joining the bloc will give more influence to the tiny country of just 1.4 million than standing on the outside.
Supporters and the right-wing ruling coalition argued that membership would boost the economy, seal Estonia's place in the European mainstream and safeguard its independence regained in 1991.
Estonia is the last but one to hold an EU referendum of eight east European countries invited to join the European Union next May in a historic enlargement to 25 members from 15.
Slovenia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic and Malta have already held ballots to join the EU. Cyprus will also join but is not holding a referendum. Neighboring Latvia, also an ex-Soviet republic, votes next week.
The Estonian vote was also good news for Brussels after Swedes voted against joining the euro currency yesterday.