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Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism,[1][2][3] is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek reform (Eurorealism, Eurocritical, or soft Euroscepticism), to those who oppose EU membership and see the EU as unreformable (anti-European Unionism, anti-EUism, or hard Euroscepticism).[4][5][6] The opposite of Euroscepticism is known as pro-Europeanism, or European Unionism.
The main drivers of Euroscepticism have been beliefs that integration undermines national sovereignty and the nation state,[7][8] that the EU is elitist and lacks democratic legitimacy and transparency,[7][8] that it is too bureaucratic and wasteful,[7][9][10] that it encourages high levels of immigration,[7] or perceptions that it is a neoliberal organisation serving the big business elite at the expense of the working class,[11] that it is responsible for austerity,[7] and drives privatization.[12]
Euroscepticism is found in groups across the political spectrum, both left-wing and right-wing, and is often found in populist parties.[13][7] Although they criticise the EU for many of the same reasons, Eurosceptic left-wing populists focus more on economic issues, such as the European debt crisis and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,[12][14][15][16] while Eurosceptic right-wing populists focus more on nationalism and immigration, such as the 2015 European migrant crisis.[17] The rise in radical-right parties since the 2000s is strongly linked to a rise in Euroscepticism.[18]
Eurobarometer surveys of EU citizens show that trust in the EU and its institutions declined strongly from 2007 to 2015.[19] In that period, it was consistently below 50%.[20] A 2009 survey showed that support for EU membership was lowest in the United Kingdom (UK), Latvia, and Hungary.[21] By 2016, the countries viewing the EU most unfavourably were the UK, Greece, France, and Spain.[22] The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum resulted in a 51.9% vote in favour of leaving the EU (Brexit), a decision that came into effect on 31 January 2020.
Since 2015, trust in the EU has risen in most EU countries as a result of falling unemployment rates and the end of the migrant crisis.[23] A post-2019 election Eurobarometer survey showed that 68% of citizens support the EU, the highest level since 1983; however, sentiment that things are not going in the right direction in the EU had increased to 50%.[24] Trust in the EU had increased significantly at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with levels varying across member states.[25][26]
- ^ "EU-Scepticism vs. Euroscepticism. Re-assessing the Party Positions in the Accession Countries towards EU Membership" in Laursen, Finn (ed.) EU Enlargement: Current Challenges and Strategic Choices, Bruxelles: Peter Lang.
- ^ Kirk, Lisbeth (22 June 2011). "EU scepticism threatens European integration". EU Observer. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ^ Therése Hultén "Swedish EU-Scepticism: How is it Compatible with the Support for Enlargement?"
- ^ "Marine Le Pen's Real Victory". The Atlantic, 7 May 2017.
- ^ Erkanor Saka (2009). Mediating the EU: Deciphering the Transformation of Turkish Elites (PhD Thesis). p. 202. ISBN 978-1109216639. Retrieved 9 March 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Matthew (26 October 2011). "Why anti-EUism is not left-wing". Workers' Liberty. Alliance for Workers Liberty. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Euroscepticism or Europhobia: Voice vs Exit?. Jacques Delors Institute. November 2014. pp.4–6
- ^ a b Alibert, Juliette. Euroscepticism: The root causes and how to address them. Heinrich Böll Foundation. October 2015.
- ^ Kopel, David, Silencing opposition in the EU, Davekopel.org, archived from the original on 29 December 2016, retrieved 18 February 2015
- ^ Hannan, Daniel (14 November 2007). "Why aren't we shocked by a corrupt EU?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ John FitzGibbon, Benjamin Leruth, Nick Startin (editors). Euroscepticism as a Transnational and Pan-European Phenomenon. Taylor & Francis, 2016. p.133
- ^ a b Jones, Owen (14 July 2015). "The left must put Britain's EU withdrawal on the agenda". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
- ^ Fortunato, Piergiuseppe; Pecoraro, Marco (2022). "Social media, education, and the rise of populist Euroscepticism". Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 9 (1): 301. doi:10.1057/s41599-022-01317-y. PMC 9428866. PMID 36065426.
- ^ Carden, Edward (2 November 2015). "Party like it's 1975: how the Left got Eurosceptic all over again". New Statesman.
- ^ John FitzGibbon, Benjamin Leruth, Nick Startin (editors). Euroscepticism as a Transnational and Pan-European Phenomenon. Taylor & Francis, 2016. p.105
- ^ Pirro, Andrea LP; Taggart, Paul; Kessel, Stijn van (4 July 2018). "The populist politics of Euroscepticism in times of crisis: Comparative conclusions" (PDF). Politics. 38 (3): 378–390. doi:10.1177/0263395718784704. S2CID 149472625.
- ^ Hobolt, Sara. "The Crisis of Legitimacy of European Institutions", in Europe's Crises. John Wiley & Sons, 2018. p.256
- ^ Han Werts, Marcel Lubbers, and Peer Scheepers (2013) Euro-scepticism and radical right-wing voting in Europe, 2002–2008: Social cleavages, socio-political attitudes and contextual characteristics determining voting for the radical right Archived 5 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, European Union Politics, vol. 14 no. 2: 183–205.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Eurobarometer Autumn 2015, Trust in EUwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Spring 2015 Standard Eurobarometer: Citizens see immigration as top challenge for EU to tackle. European Commission. 31 July 2015.
- ^ "Standard Eurobarometer 71 (fieldwork June–July 2009)" (PDF). European Commission. September 2009. pp. 91–3. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
- ^ Wright, Oliver (7 June 2016), "Euroscepticism on the rise across Europe as analysis finds increasing opposition to the EU in France, Germany and Spain", The Independent, retrieved 1 August 2016
- ^ "European spring – Trust in the EU and democracy is recovering". Bruegel.org. 4 May 2023.
- ^ "Closer to the Citizens, Closer to the Ballot". Closer to the Citizens, Closer to the Ballot. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Living, working and COVID-19 data". Eurofound. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "Trust has increased in EU but dropped in national governments: Survey". Politico. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.