Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe : Views From the Capitals

"The European Parliament elections in May 2019 did not bring about the rise of populism in Europe that had been feared by many. Instead, while populism was contained, a broad pro-European majority emerged that today carries the new European Commission with its ambitious green, digital and geopolitical agenda. However, Euroscepticism remains a significant force to be reckoned with in national and EU-policy making. The present book offers a better understanding of the different types of Euroscepticism that exist across Europe. It also shows that Euroscepticism is best addressed by understanding well the often valid concerns that are at the origins of Eurosceptic forces. If this is done in time, Euroscepticism is not something to be afraid of. It is part of a vibrant European democracy that is resilient enough to embrace those who criticise the reality of the European project with good arguments; and that stands ready to develop and improve day by day to become a more perfect Union." - Martin Selmayr, Head of the European Commission's representation in Austria "This book comes at the right time. European integration seems more contested than ever, but is it really? This book answers this question by probing into 40 shades of Euroscepticism, within and beyond the EU Member States. It is a must read for academics and practitioners alike." - Christine Neuhold, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands "With this book, the authors offer readers of European politics a treasure trove, with valuable insights into the variety of populist and nationalist forces that oppose mainstream European integration. Faced with such a jumble of eurosceptic parties pursuing narrow and in many cases reactionary agendas, the need for proper federal political parties becomes self-evident. Only then will the diverse interests and aspirations of citizens be given realistic expression at the EU level." - Andrew Duff, President, The Spinelli Group This book sheds light on how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is having an impact on the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in the European Parliament, and the future of Europe. It is timed to coincide with the strategic vision of Council, Commission, and Parliament, as well as the next phase of Brexit negotiations. The book provides perspectives on the future of the European project from authors in all the EU Member States, as well as neighboring European countries and potential applicant nations. Furthermore, it includes a Foreword by the Vice-president of the European Parliament. With many Eurosceptic parties now in national government, or winning European elections and thus exerting influence over the national debate, this book maps and analyses the nature and impact of Euroscepticism--and new nationalist tendencies--in the different party systems of Europe. As national political parties are the gatekeepers of the process of political representation, they play a pivotal role in mobilizing civil society and in setting the political agenda. They shape politics at a national level, but also determine the way in which Europe plays out--or does not play out--as a political issue. Thus, it is from the national capitals that the very future of Europe emerges Front Matter ....Pages i-xliii Albania: Will the EU’s Ambiguity Lead to Euroscepticism? (Leonie Vrugtman)....Pages 1-4 Austria: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side (Paul Schmidt)....Pages 5-8 Belgium: Breaking the Consensus? Eurosceptic Parties (Wouter Wolfs, Steven Van Hecke)....Pages 9-12 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ethnopolitics and Hopeful Euroscepticism—No Light at the End of the European Tunnel? (Vedran Džihić)....Pages 13-15 Bulgaria: Creeping EU-Scepticism—The Tacit Consent that Fuels Populism (Hristo Panchugov, Ivan Nachev)....Pages 17-20 Croatia: The Government Should Take Citizens Seriously (Hrvoje Butković)....Pages 21-23 Cyprus: A Pro-European Attitude, but Scepticism Still Holds Strong (Giorgos Kentas)....Pages 25-28 Czechia: Who Is the Most Eurosceptic of Them All? The Eurosceptic Race to the Bottom (Zdeněk Sychra, Petr Kratochvíl)....Pages 29-33 Denmark: Ambivalence Towards the EU—From Foot-Dragging to Pacesetters? (Maja Kluger Dionigi, Marlene Wind)....Pages 35-38 Estonia: Challenges with the Popularity of Right-Wing Radicalism (Viljar Veebel)....Pages 39-42 Finland: A Meaningful EU Debate Is Needed to Regain Ground from Populist Framing (Juha Jokela)....Pages 43-46 France: When Euroscepticism Becomes the Main Credo of the Opposition (Nonna Mayer, Olivier Rozenberg)....Pages 47-50 Germany: Eurosceptics and the Illusion of an Alternative (Katrin Böttger, Funda Tekin)....Pages 51-53 Greece: The Remarkable Defeat of Euroscepticism (George Pagoulatos)....Pages 55-58 Hungary: Euroscepticism and Nationalism (András Inotai)....Pages 59-64 Iceland: Hard-Line Eurosceptics Clash with Eurosceptics (Baldur Thorhallsson)....Pages 65-68 Ireland: ‘A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats’—A Unique Situation on Countering Euroscepticism (Róisín Smith)....Pages 69-72 Italy: Has Salvini Saved the Country from Himself? Not Yet (Eleonora Poli)....Pages 73-76 Kosovo: Moonwalking Towards the European Union (Venera Hajrullahu)....Pages 77-80 Latvia: Euroscepticism—Between Reason and Treason (Karlis Bukovskis, Andris Spruds)....Pages 81-84 Liechtenstein: Euroscepticism Yes and No! (Christian Frommelt)....Pages 85-88 Lithuania: Euroscepticism—Present on the Margins (Ramūnas Vilpišauskas)....Pages 89-92 Luxembourg: Make Europe Work Better in the Greater Regions (Guido Lessing)....Pages 93-96 Malta: Bucking the Trend—How Malta Turned its Back on Euroscepticism (Mark Harwood)....Pages 97-100 Montenegro: A Great Bargain Between the European Union Optimism and Real Euroscepticism (Danijela Jaćimović, Sunčica Rogic)....Pages 101-104 North Macedonia: The Name in Exchange for European Union Membership? (Irena Rajchinovska Pandeva)....Pages 105-108 Norway: Outside, But ... (John Erik Fossum)....Pages 109-113 Poland: Economic Enthusiasts, Value Adversaries (Zdzisław Mach, Natasza Styczyńska)....Pages 115-118 Portugal: Something Old, Something New and Everything Blue (Alice Cunha)....Pages 119-122 Romania: Euroscepticism—Contamination of the Mainstream Parties, Limited Support Among the Citizens (Bianca Toma, Alexandru Damian)....Pages 123-126 Serbia: Our Greatest Fear—An Empty Country, Pawn in the Hands of Great Powers on the “Periphery of the Periphery” (Marko Savković)....Pages 127-130 Slovakia: Euroscepticism as a Changing Notion in Electoral Campaigns (Oľga Gyárfášová, Lucia Mokrá)....Pages 131-133 Slovenia: Extremes Are Attractive Only to the Media (Maja Bučar, Boštjan Udovič)....Pages 135-138 Spain: The Risk of Too High Expectations on the EU’s Role as a Problem Solver (Ignacio Molina)....Pages 139-143 Sweden: Battling for Values (Gunilla Herolf)....Pages 145-147 Switzerland: A Vital Relationship in the Stranglehold of Euroscepticism (Frank Schimmelfennig)....Pages 149-151 The Netherlands: Playing with Fire? Dutch Political Parties Between Reluctant and Pragmatic Pro-Europeanism (Maurits J. Meijers, Lars Stevenson, Adriaan Schout)....Pages 153-157 Turkey: A Vicious Cycle of Euroscepticism? (Senem Aydın-Düzgit, Özgehan Şenyuva)....Pages 159-162 UK: Brexit—The Car That Keeps on Crashing (Brendan Donnelly)....Pages 163-166 Ukraine: The Progress of (Euro) Populism in Postmodern Age (Yuriy Yakymenko, Viktor Zamiatin)....Pages 167-170 Back Matter ....Pages 171-174 "Euroscepticism remains a significant force to be reckoned with in national and EU-policy making. The present book offers a better understanding of the different types of Euroscepticism that exist across Europe. It also shows that Euroscepticism is best addressed by understanding well the often valid concerns that are at the origins of Eurosceptic forces." -- Martin Selmayr, Head of the European Commission's representation in Austria "This book comes at the right time. European integration seems more contested than ever, but is it really? This book answers this question by probing into 40 shades of Euroscepticism, within and beyond the EU. It is a must read for academics and practitioners alike." -- Christine Neuhold, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands "This book offers readers of European politics a treasure trove, with valuable insights into the variety of populist and nationalist forces that oppose mainstream European integration." -- Andrew Duff, President, The Spinelli Group This book sheds light on how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is having an impact on the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in the European Parliament, and the future of Europe. It provides perspectives on the future of the European project from authors in all the EU Member States, as well as neighbouring European countries and potential applicant nations. With many Eurosceptic parties now in national government or exerting influence over the national debate, this book maps and analyses the nature and impact of Euroscepticism and nationalism in the different party systems of Europe. As national political parties are the gatekeepers of the process of political representation, they play a pivotal role in mobilizing civil society and in setting the political agenda. They shape politics at a national level, but also determine the way in which Europe plays out--or does not play out--as a political issue. Thus, it is from the national capitals that the very future of Europe emerges. Michael Kaeding is Former Chair and current Honorary Board Member of the Trans European Policy Studies Association. He is Professor of European Integration and EU Politics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, holding a Jean Monnet Chair. Johannes Pollak is Rector of and Professor of Political Science at the Webster Vienna Private University, Austria. He is also Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, and Lecturer at the Universities of Salzburg and Vienna. Paul Schmidt is Secretary General of the Austrian Society for European Politics in Vienna. He has worked at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Vienna and at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the European Union "Euroscepticism remains a significant force to be reckoned with in national and EU-policy making. The present book offers a better understanding of the different types of Euroscepticism that exist across Europe. It also shows that Euroscepticism is best addressed by understanding well the often valid concerns that are at the origins of Eurosceptic forces."--Martin Selmayr, Head of the European Commissions representation in Austria "This book comes at the right time. European integration seems more contested than ever, but is it really? This book answers this question by probing into 40 shades of Euroscepticism, within and beyond the EU. It is a must read for academics and practitioners alike." -- Christine Neuhold, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands "This book offers readers of European politics a treasure trove, with valuable insights into the variety of populist and nationalist forces that oppose mainstream European integration." -- Andrew Duff, President, The Spinelli Group This book sheds light on how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is having an impact on the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in the European Parliament, and the future of Europe. It provides perspectives on the future of the European project from authors in all the EU Member States, as well as neighbouring European countries and potential applicant nations. With many Eurosceptic parties now in national government or exerting influence over the national debate, this book maps and analyses the nature and impact of Euroscepticism and nationalism in the different party systems of Europe. As national political parties are the gatekeepers of the process of political representation, they play a pivotal role in mobilizing civil society and in setting the political agenda. They shape politics at a national level, but also determine the way in which Europe plays out--or does not play out--as a political issue. Thus, it is fro m the national capitals that the very future of Europe emerges. Michael Kaeding is Former Chair and current Honorary Board Member of the Trans European Policy Studies Association. He is Professor of European Integration and EU Politics at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, holding a Jean Monnet Chair. Johannes Pollak is Rector of and Professor of Political Science at the Webster Vienna Private University, Austria. He is also Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, and Lecturer at the Universities of Salzburg and Vienna. Paul Schmidt is Secretary General of the Austrian Society for European Politics in Vienna. He has worked at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Vienna and at the Permanent Representation of Austria to the European Union "Euroscepticism remains a significant force to be reckoned with in national and EU-policy making. The present book offers a better understanding of the different types of Euroscepticism that exist across Europe. It also shows that Euroscepticism is best addressed by understanding well the often valid concerns that are at the origins of Eurosceptic forces." -- Martin Selmayr, Head of the European Commissions representation in Austria "This book comes at the right time. European integration seems more contested than ever, but is it really? This book answers this question by probing into 40 shades of Euroscepticism, within and beyond the EU. It is a must read for academics and practitioners alike." -- Christine Neuhold, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands "This book offers readers of European politics a treasure trove, with valuable insights into the variety of populist and nationalist forces that oppose mainstream European integration." -- Andrew Duff, President, The Spinelli Group This book sheds light on how the increasing prominence of Eurosceptic and nationalist parties is having an impact on the thinking of mainstream parties, their representatives in the European Parliament, and the future of Europe. It provides perspectives on the future of the European project from authors in all the EU Member States, as well as neighbouring European countries and potential applicant nations. With many Eurosceptic parties now in national government or exerting influence over the national debate, this book maps and analyses the nature and impact of Euroscepticism and nationalism in the different party systems of Europe. As national political parties are the gatekeepers of the process of political representation, they play a pivotal role in mobilizing civil society and in setting the political agenda. They shape politics at a national level, but also determine the way in which Europe plays out--or does not play out--as a political issue. Thus, it is fro m the national capitals that the very future of Europe emerges" Informació de l'editor