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Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a desire to preserve national sovereignty. In this context, antonyms are pro-European and the more pejorative europhile. Eurosceptics sometimes refer to themselves as euro-realists, while their detractors may instead refer to them as europhobes. The simple adjective anti-EU can also be used by either side.Euroscepticism is generally stronger in Northern European countries, including member-states UK, Sweden, and Denmark, all of which have, for example, rejected participation in the Economic and Monetary Union. Non-members Norway and Iceland and (further to the south) Switzerland, especially the German-speaking cantons, have also shown a marked reluctance to expand ties with the EU or accept membership.
According to Eurobarometer surveys, fewer than 3 in 10 members of the UK and Sweden feel their country has benefited from membership of the EU. Most continental European countries tend to be more pro-European, although euroskeptic movements exist in all European countries in some form. Among the new member states who acceded in 2004, the Czech Republic is the most eurosceptic.
1 Eurosceptic influences on European politics
Euroscepticism is likely to have been a factor (at least in part) of:
- the Norwegian rejection of EU membership, on both occasions
- the Swiss rejection of membership in the European Economic Area
- the initial Danish rejection of the Maastricht treaty (later approved) and the 49% FrenchThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. vote against
- the Danish rejection of the euroThe euro ISO 4217 code EUR is the currency of twelve of the twenty-five nations that form the European Union (and four outside it, as well as Montenegro and Kosovo), which form the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It is the result of the most significan
- the IrishThe Republic of Ireland ( Irish: Poblacht na hEireann is the common term for a state which covers approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, off the coast of northwest Europe. It is the western-most state of the European Union. The remaining sixt rejection of the Nice treaty in the first referendum (later approved)
- the Swedish rejection of the euro in the national referendum on September 14 2003
- the fact that Iceland has never applied for membership
- the fact that Greenland chose not to remain in the EU (then the EEC) when it was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979.
- the United Kingdom's unwillingness to be a part of the Schengen treaty or the Economic and Monetary Union.
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.
