The paper features the role of referendums in the EU countries. The author defined the following key features of this institution of direct democracy: the national character of the referenda held in Europe; various attitudes to referendums in the EU countries; various objectives of the referendums held in separate European countries and in the EU. If the results of the referendum do not satisfy the current government, it is trying in every way to circumvent or level the negative results of the people's will. The paper features the main arguments of the political elite, challenging the results of referendums, as well as ways to discredit the "wrong" results of direct democracy. The position of the authorities is compared with the medieval carnivals, when representatives of the authorities and the common people temporarily changed roles, and after a while everything returned to normal life. The novelty of the work consists in comparing the institution of the referendum with the carnival paraphernalia characteristic of European culture. The current elite at the time of the referendum creates the appearance of the importance of the opinions of citizens, transfers its powers to ordinary residents. However, if the results do not satisfy the government, the results are neutralized, which raises the matter of the significance of the referendum procedure in its current format for European democracy.