2 Eurosceptic issues

The issues on which eurosceptics focus vary from country to country.

In European countries outside the EU, eurosceptics focus attention on the perceived disadvantages of Union membership; for instance, in the case of Norway, the greatest concern is with the effect of the EU's fishing policies. In those countries which are already members, but have chosen to retain independent currencies (the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden), eurosceptics focus on the perceived disadvantages of Euro membership, as well as on other aspects of involvement with the EU. Arguments against the Economic and Monetary Union are built upon the recent underperformance of the eurozone when compared with those economies that have chosen to remain outside.

While many eurosceptics take issue with particular characteristics of the EU as it stands, some maintain in principle that the very concept of the EU is an invention of bureaucrats seeking to create a bureaucratic (or even totalitarian) superstate.

2.1 Centralisation

Many eurosceptics do not agree with the idea of a centralised European state, a United States of Europe akin to the United States of America, which many see as the inevitable outcome of current integrationist trends (a perception disputed by most, but by no means all, pro-Europeans).

2.2 Compromising sovereignty

Eurosceptics often disagree with current or proposed measures that they see as compromising national sovereignties, including:

• the proposed European Rapid Reaction Force
• the draft European Constitution
• the proposed establishing of a European Public Prosecutor, or the establishing of Eurojust
• any extension of Europol to include enforcement powers
• harmonising taxation or welfare benefits
• reduction to the number of policy areas subject to agreement by unanimity in the European Council, where each country may veto proposed legislation.

Eurosceptics often propose either radical modifications to the structure of the EU, including more influence for national parliaments, or the withdrawal of their country from the Union altogether.

2.3 Harmonising of justice and home affairs

Eurosceptics generally consider the harmonizing of criminal justice systems in Europe unnecessary. They dispute ostensive pro-Europeans' claims that enhanced judicial co-operation could provide additional protection against terrorists or organized criminal gangs. They believe that moves towards centralised decisions on issues of justice and law are examples of the EU's lack of choice and poor cultural awareness.

While some Eurosceptics believe that all current systems of justice offer adequate protection despite their differences, others, including members of the British Parliament, contend that British common law systems of justice are incompatible with civil law systems which, according to some of them, do not provide enough protections with respect to presumption of innocence and other guarantees. (These guarantees, however, are laid out in the European Convention of Human Rights, which all EU members must sign.)

3 France

On the left of the political spectrum, the Parti des Travailleurs, Jean-Pierre Chevènement and the French Communist Party are eurosceptic. They see the European Union as a means through which unpopular economic measures of free markets, free trade, the gradual demolition of public services and Social Security and increasing technocracy, all of which they see as part of a right-wing agenda, are imposed on the French public.

On the right, Jean-Marie Le Pen ( Front National) and Philippe de Villiers are eurosceptic. They are against compromising French independence and the possible integration into the European Union of countries that they contend are not European in essence, such as Turkey. Le Pen is also opposed to the Common Agricultural Policy and would rather have protectionist measures against imports of foreign agricultural products into France.

4 Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom

The debate around euroscepticism has been a major political issue in the United Kingdom since the inception of the European Union (then the European Economic Community or EEC), and has not reduced significantly following UK membership of the Union.

4.1 Eurosceptic attitudes in the UK today

Many in Britain feel that they do not know enough about the European Union, but despite the widespread ignorance of the fundamentals of the organisation there is an ingrained attitude of suspicion, if not resentment, to its institutions, processes and policies.

Eurosceptics regard the EU as undemocratic, bureaucratic, and a threat to national sovereignty. The majority of the mainstream print media, particularly a tabloid press dominated by interests hostile to the 'European project' such as those of Rupert Murdoch, carry what some see as overtly tendentious interpretations of EU legislation and policy, which many commentators argue contribute greatly to this attitude.

British eurosceptics are often against political and administrative centralisation while remaining in favour of other pan-European measures such as a EU-wide free trade area.

Some British eurosceptics, including MPs, essentially maintain the superiority of British institutions, traditions and methods with respect to those of the neighbouring countries, and then argue that this is a proof that further association or integration would be undesirable. For instance, with respect to European judicial integration, they claim (controversially) that the civil law systems found on the Continent do not provide presumption of innocence and other protections.

Recent UK polls show that the majority of the British electorate:

• is opposed to UK membership in the euro;
• does not feel well informed about the proposed new European Constitution, but would tend to oppose it;
• but does not want to leave the EU altogether.

4.2 History of British euroscepticism

Although the British government was in principle favourable to the creation of the EEC, it did not become a founding member, as it initially believed that it would be better off trading with other Commonwealth countries in the English-speaking sphere of influence. The United Kingdom therefore entered the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a trade agreement which was less integrationist than the community.

However, after some years, trade among EEC countries ended up accounting for more of Britain's trade than with the EFTA. Britain therefore reconsidered its policy, moving closer to the EEC and opening accession negotiations in 1961.

French president Charles de Gaulle strongly resisted, arguing that the UK was closer to US policies than European ones, and would thus try to "sabotage" the community. Such a fear was understandable, given the past declarations of prominent British politicians: for instance, Winston Churchill had declared in 1944 to de Gaulle that if he ever had to choose between the open sea and the continent, he would always choose the ocean; and if he had to choose between America and Europe, he would always choose the first. Consequently, France vetoed the UK's membership bid (as well the Danish and Irish bids) in 1963.

The Labour party, then in opposition, spoke against the EEC. Party leader Hugh Gaitskell once regarded the EEC as "the end of a thousand years of history". A second attempt was made in 1967, but it was again rejected by a French veto.

When de Gaulle stepped down from power, UK membership prospects improved. Labour changed its traditionally hostile policy against the EEC and became more favourable. After the party came to power, Britain applied to join for a third time in 1969. Finally, Britain joined the community in 1973.

However, scepticism about membership prompted the Labour government to hold a referendum in 1975 on the permanence in the community. The question on the paper was:

"Parliament has decided to consult the electorate on the question whether the UK should remain in the European Economic Community: Do you want the UK to remain in the EEC?"

British membership of the EEC was endorsed by 66% of the electorate.

Some advocates of EEC membership had argued that the EEC would be "no more than a trade agreement", though the White Paper put before Parliament at the time also spoke of "political union" and "shared sovereignty". It is therefore controversial whether the extent of political union in today's EU was mandated by the 1975 referendum.

As decades passed and European integration deepened, with successive Treaties signed by governments, some Britons have felt betrayed by the government, and eurosceptic attitudes have deepened.

4.3 Eurosceptics in UK political parties

The debate between Eurosceptics and pro-Europeans is ongoing in British political parties whose membership is of varied standpoints. The two main political parties in Britain, the governing Labour Party and the opposition Conservative Party, both have within them a broad spectrum of views concerning the European Union.

In the Conservative Party, debate over Europe has been ongoing since the 1970s, sometimes to the detriment of other issues. Currently, euroskepticism is a significant current of opinion within the Conservative Party, to an extent perceived to be greater than in any comparably important political party in any other EU member state (but this is to be expected in a country where a large proportion of the population is euroskeptic). Pro-European elements on the left of the Conservative Party also suffered disproportionately more when marginal constituencies were lost in the 1997 General Elections.

However, many commentators believe overinterest in the issue to be an important reason why the Conservative Party lost the General Election of 2001. They argue that the British electorate was more influenced by domestic issues than by European affairs. This is illustrated by the poor performance of the breakaway Pro-Euro Conservative Party in the 1999 European elections.

After the electoral defeat of the UK Conservatives in 2001, the issue of eurosceptism was important in the contest to elect a new party leader. The winner, Iain Duncan Smith, was seen as more euroskeptic than his predecessor and concern was expressed that his victory could result in an inflammation of the issue within the party.

As opposition leader, Iain Duncan Smith attempted to disaffiliate the British Conservative Members of the European Parliament from the federalist European People's Party Group. As MEPs must maintain a pan-European alliance to retain parliamentary privileges, Duncan Smith sought the merger of Conservative MEPs into the eurosceptic Union for a Europe of Nations (UEN) group. Conservative MEPs vetoed this move because of the presence within the UEN of representatives of neo-fascist parties who do not share similar domestic politics. In 2004, Duncan Smith's successor, Michael Howard, emphasized that Conservative MEPs would remain in the EPP Group so as to maintain influence in the European Parliament.

The governing UK Labour Party is also split into eurosceptic and pro-European factions. Historically, the party tended towards euroscepticism, but today under Prime Minister Tony Blair it is strongly pro-European. However, a significant minority of Labour MPs have formed the Labour Against the Euro group, opposing British membership of the single currency. The group has support from minority parts of the Trade Union movement, while the majority of Trade Unions remain staunchly pro-European.

The UK's third-largest parliamentary party, the Liberal Democrats, is strongly pro-European.

The success of the comparatively new United Kingdom Independence Party, which advocates the UK's complete withdrawal from the European Union, in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections demonstrated the strength of eurosceptic feeling among the British public. The party was supported by sacked ex-TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk and Joan Collins, who helped to advertise the party's aim of withdrawal and taking power back from Brussels. Following these results, some commentators have suggested that UKIP could do well in the upcoming General Election against the three mainstream parties, none of which have withdrawalist policies. There has also been speculation that the relative success of UKIP may push the Conservatives into a more eurosceptic position; such speculation has been fuelled by the recent return of strong eurosceptic John Redwood to the Conservative front bench.

4.4 Eurosceptic British press

In the UK, many newspapers, notably the Daily Mail and the Rupert Murdoch newspapers ( The Sun, the News of the World, The Times and The Sunday Times), are eurosceptic and have published many stories critical of supposed EU policies that the European Union which were inaccurate or spurious, or sometimes blatantly false. In response, the European Commission has created a website dedicated to refuting or explaining the facts behind these stories.

Some British eurosceptic tabloids such as The Sun occasionally use disparaging slurs and crude jokes about the UK's European partners, playing on former conflicts and national stereotypes. For this reason they have often been labelled xenophobic. Pro-Europeans accuse them of consciously denigrating foreign countries to influence British politics. Many eurosceptics disassociate themselves with such behaviour and prefer to concentrate their arguments on what they see as the EU's essentially unaccountable and undemocratic structure.

5 Euroscepticism in Central and Eastern Europe

One common argument raised by eurosceptics in the new EU member states from Central Europe is that the European Union's bureaucracy and perceived socialist tendencies may be sustainable for mature Western European economies, but will bring the still fragile post- communist economies to a grinding halt. These viewpoints have often been encouraged when governments tried to excuse increases to the fiscal burden as harmonizing law with EU requirements, even when those laws had not been introduced for old EU member countries. Pro-Europeans argue the increased regulatory burden is feasible through post-accession increased economic growth, and that now inside the EU they will be able to help reform it.

Other issues include the need for new entrants to initiate EU-level border controls with non-accession neighbours. This has a big impact on the Poland's border with Ukraine. The introduction of the EU's visa regime has often greatly reduced cross-border trade with these neighbours, thus bankrupting many small family business in one of the poorest regions of Poland. Some consider Poland's joining the EU to be an act of disloyalty towards Ukraine, ultimately pushing it further into the Russian sphere of influence. Many economists believe that, on a country wide level, these disadvantages will eventually be offset by the freedom to travel and do business across the EU, though the benefits may be distributed unequally.

The Czech president Václav Klaus is Central Europe's most outspoken eurosceptic or, more precisely, a self-described eurorealist. He believes that democracy cannot work at a supernational level. He has warned Europe of "dream world" woes:

The enemies of free societies today are those who want to burden us down again with layer upon layer of regulations. We had that in communist times. But now if you look at all the new rules and regulations of EU membership, layered bureaucracy is staging a comeback.

Other criticisms of the European Union are related to its inability to prevent the recent increase in ethnic nationalism across Eastern Europe; the example of Kosovo is often cited. The EU is sometimes accused of trying to impose models that worked in the Western European countries without any regard for the different reality of Eastern European life, and it is claimed that this approach produces more problems than it solves.

Some Romanians, Slovaks and Croatians claim that the irredentism of Hungary has found a new platform built by the European Union in Eastern Europe. Alleged irredentist Hungarian politicians (among them Viktor Orban, ex-prime-minister) are claimed to be helped by European regulations in involving themselves in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries. The main practice denounced is that Hungary is trying use the legitimate concept of ethnical minority rights in order to promote various forms (mostly subtle) of revanchism in the region. The claim is supported by Hungary's amending the status law trying to redefine the idea of nation and extending special economic, social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in neighbouring states (Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and Ukraine), who had objected to the law in 2001. The EUROPEAN COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY THROUGH LAW (VENICE COMMISSION) was called in by Romania and criticised the Hungarian initiative. However, this did not stop Hungary from pursuing its intentions which, in the opinion of affected Eastern Europeans, is another proof of Europe's inability to handle the ethnical nationalism in Eastern Europe.

6 Eurosceptics in the European Parliament

In 2004, 37 MEPs from the UK, Poland, Denmark and Sweden founded a new European Parliament group called Independence and Democracy from the old EDD group. The main goals of this group are to reject the Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe and to oppose further European integration. Some delegations within the group, notably the United Kingdom Independence Party, advocate the complete withdrawal of their country from the EU.

The group's leaders are Nigel Farage of UKIP (10 MEPs), Jens Peter Bonde of Denmark, and Maciej Giertych of the League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) (10 MEPs).

7 External links

7.1 Studies of public opinion

• Euroscepticism statistics from the European Commission
• Europe and the Ballot:Voting Behaviour in Referendums on European Integration

7.2 Eurosceptic sites

• Euro-skeptic Web Resource
• UK Independence Party
• UK Conservative Party
• Anti-Common Market League
• Eurorealist
• Bruges Group
• Religious opposition to the EU

7.3 Specific criticisms of the EU

• Eurosceptic blog by Richard North
• Criticism of EU 'propaganda'
• Problems with CAP

7.4 Euromyth and Euroscepticism rebuttals

• The European Commission's Press Office in London
• Benefits of European Union membership

7.5 Other useful sites

• BBC NEWS Ever closer union? The UK and Europe
• Outcome of the 1975 referendum in Scotland and the rest of the UK

European Union

<Hide>