Euroscepticism

{{politics}}
'''Euroscepticism''' is opposition to the [[European Union]] (EU) and the process of [[European]] integration. It includes opposition to the euro, to the institutions of the EU, to European bureaucracy, to expansion of the EU, and to some existing memberships. The term Eurosceptic includes a very wide range of positions: from mainstream [[political parties]] which accept the EU but want to modify its structure, to those who see the EU as a [[New World Order|wholly]] [[Evil|malevolent]] [[Antichrist|entity]] which ''must'' [[Revolution|be]] [[War|destroyed]]. These positions might be labelled "soft" and "hard," or "[[moderate]]" and "[[extremist|extreme]]," but there are no official labels. In fact there is no official Euroscepticism at all, no central organization, no leaders, and no official ideology.

Euroscepticism is found on both sides of the [[political spectrum]], usually combined with some form of [[nationalism]]. Mainstream [[politician]]s usually want the terms of their own countries' membership revised in the national interest. [[Left-wing]] Eurosceptic groups oppose it as a [[capitalist]] entity, while others, mainly on the [[right-wing|right]], believe that the EU is deliberately destroying their own [[nation]], its sovereignty, and its [[culture]], and reject the EU entirely. Euroscepticism is a feature of some [[wingnut]] [[conspiracy theories]], such as [[Eurabia]], and crazier Eurosceptics often use the acronym [[Red-baiting|EUSSR]], and images of the EU flag [[Red-baiting|modified to look like the Soviet flag]]:
[[File:EUSSR flag.png|thumb|center|400px|<center><big>'''Oh noes!'''</big></center>]]

==Eurosceptic parties==
In the [[United Kingdom]], the [[Conservative]] party typically supported a "soft" Eurosceptic position of continued EU membership but with no further powers being passed to it, although many of its members would prefer that the EU return to a simple trade community along the lines of the old European Economic Community (EEC).<ref>[http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Europe.aspx Conservative Party - Europe]</ref> This is probably due to the their dissaffection towards the € throughout the [[eurozone crisis]]. The [[UK Independence Party]] (UKIP) and the [[British National Party]] (BNP) support total [[secession|withdrawal]] from the EU — a "hard" Eurosceptic position.<ref>[http://www.ukip.org/issues/policy-pages/what-we-stand-for UKIP - What We Stand For]</ref><ref>[http://www.bnp.org.uk/policies/foreign-affairs BNP - Foreign Affairs]</ref> [[Xenophobia|Not shocking why.]]

[[Populist]] parties in Europe tend to be Eurosceptic because it's easy (and [[Stopped clock|not entirely unfair]]) to portray the EU as an [[Elitism|elitist]] project. In the European Parliament itself, the ''Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy''<ref>Before the 2014 EP elections the group was simply called {{wpl|Europe of Freedom and Democracy|''Europe of Freedom and 
Direct
 Democracy''}} and had fewer MEPs (34) than the EFDD (47), but from more countries (9 as opposed to 7).</ref> group represents the "hard" position, and has members from 7 countries, but its largest parties are the UK's UKIP and [[Italy]]'s {{wpl|Five Star Movement}} which together furnish 39 of the EFD's 46 MEPs (the other 5 EFDD parties each field only 1-2 MEPs).<ref>[http://www.efdgroup.eu/about-us/delegations The 7 parties constituting the EFDD].</ref> The EFDD has so far been the most stable of the "hard" EP groups, having survived for more than a single 5-year EP term. Former groups of a similar type have had a tendency to fall apart as their national populist parties had little or nothing in common beyond [[My enemy's enemy|their opposition to the EU]]. In contrast to the EFDD, the ''European Conservatives and Reformists'' (ECR) group advocates a "soft" position, with members from 15 countries, but the bulk of its members are either British Conservatives or from [[Poland]]'s {{wpl|Law and Justice}} party.<ref>[http://ecrgroup.eu/about-us/the-ecr-in-the-european-parliament/ ''About the ECR Group''], from the ECR website. See also its own [http://ecrgroup.eu/?page_id=954 ''Brief History of the ECR Group'']. The ECR changed markedly after the 2014 EP elections as it was joined by several new parties, such as the [[Danish People's Party]] (which defected from the EFD/EFDD group).</ref><ref>The Tories and Law and Justice together muster 38 of the ECR's 72 MEPs with an additional 7 from {{wpl|Alternative for Germany}} and 4 each from the 
[[Belgian]]
 {{wpl|New Flemish Alliance}} and the Danish People's Party, while the 17 other ECR parties only deliver 1-2 MEPs each.</ref>

The [[Labour Party]] has been broadly pro-European Union in recent years,<ref>—
*{{Cite news|title = [https://archive.is/SGfI1 Labour's new pro-Europeanism]|newspaper = The Economist|access-date = 2015-11-14|issn = 0013-0613|publication-date = 2 Jul 2013}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/J2ey7 Labour party forms pro-Europe campaign group]|website = The Guardian|accessdate = 2015-11-14|first = Patrick|last = Wintour|date = 14 June 2015}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/bKSZR Labour and Europe: Europhile and proud]|date = 15 March 2014|accessdate = 2015-11-14|website = The Economist}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/HagJ3 Ed Miliband outlines Labour's EU referendum policy]|website = BBC News|accessdate = 2015-11-14|first = Nick|last = Robinson}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/KMavs Alan Johnson's pro-EU group called 'Labour In For Britain' {{!}} PoliticsHome.com]|website = www.politicshome.com|accessdate = 2015-11-14|date = 15 Oct 2015}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/ZF9Jw The Labour Party has become more pro-European as time has progressed]|website = Democratic Audit UK|accessdate = 2015-11-14|language = |date = 3 Oct 2015}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/DaOmf Corbyn gives go-ahead for pro-EU 'Labour In For Britain' group run by Alan Johnson]|website = Total Politics|accessdate = 2015-11-14|date = 15 Oct 2015}}
*{{Cite news|title = [https://archive.is/1kgSV Jeremy Corbyn vows to oppose 'Brexit' and backs EU tax on City ]|newspaper = Financial Times|date = 2015-09-17|access-date = 2015-11-14|issn = 0307-1766|first = George|last = Parker|first2 = Alex|last2 = Barker}}</ref> although there are some dissenting [[Euroscepticism|Eurosceptics]] in the party, such as {{wpl|Kate Hoey}}<ref>—
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/HejTp Kate Hoey: Labour has become an "extremely unpatriotic" party]|work = New Statesman|accessdate = 2015-11-14|date = 17 June 2015}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/836PL Kate Hoey sets up Eurosceptic 'Labour for Britain' group]|website = LabourList {{!}} Labour's biggest independent grassroots e-network|accessdate = 2015-11-14|date = 18 June 2015}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/CR5hT Eurosceptic Labour MPs and top donor John Mills launch 'Labour for Britain' group]|website = International Business Times UK|accessdate = 2015-11-14|date = 17 June 2015}}
*{{Cite web|title = [https://archive.is/zrnbs EU referendum: Inside the Labour campaign resurrecting left-wing Euroscepticism]|website = International Business Times|accessdate = 2015-11-14|date = 9 July 2015}}</ref> and {{wpl|Kelvin Hopkins||.}}<ref name="Independent EU Corbyn 1">{{cite news|last1=Dathan|first1=Matt|title=[https://archive.is/RtlrB Jeremy Corbyn warned much of his agenda will not be achievable if Britain stays in the EU]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=The Independent|date=28 September 2015}}</ref> Although initially favourable towards the EU (as he was with the [[United Nations]]<ref>[https://youtu.be/W8hdUy78QwU?t=19 Discussed during this heated interview] with [[John Bolton]].</ref>) due to the horrors of the [[Second World War]],<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0wFii8klNg Tony Benn on the EU, Oxford Union] ([[YouTube]])</ref> the left-wing Labour MP {{wpl|Tony Benn}} was a prominent figure in opposing Britain's entry into the European Common Market (the predecessor of the EU),<ref>{{cite news|title=[https://archive.is/z6jZ 1975: UK embraces Europe in referendum]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=BBC: On This Day|publisher=BBC News|date=6 June 1975}}</ref> saying that Edward Heath (then Prime Minister) had "sold out Britain's interests to the Common Market and gave our sovereignty away without our consent — with support of Mr Thorpe and the Liberals".<ref>Speech in Bristol (31 November, 1973), quoted in ''{{'}}Democracy in danger{{'}} warning by Mr Benn'', The Times (1 December, 1973), pp. 1-2.</ref> During the {{wpl|United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975|1975 Common Market referendum|,}} Harold Wilson temporarily suspended {{wpl|Collective responsibility|collective ministerial responsibility}} and allowed a free vote on the issue, effectively letting Labour MPs vote according to their own consciences in order to prevent a split within the party.<ref>
*{{cite book|author=Colin Pilkington|title=[http://web.archive.org/web/20151115162736/https://books.google.com/books?id=qyANAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA119#v=onepage&q&f=false Britain in the European Union Today]|date=1 January 1995|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-4562-2|page=119}}
*{{cite news|last1=Stone-Lee|first1=Ollie|title=[https://archive.is/0fQo8 How Wilson handled his Euro split]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=BBC News|date=29 December 2005}}
*{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Alistair|title=[https://archive.is/UJOhj Collective Responsibility and the EU Referendum]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=Huffington Post|date=9 June 2015}}
*{{cite news|last1=Chakelian|first1=Anoosh|title=[https://archive.is/nu7IK George Osborne: the EU referendum would be a free vote for Tory backbenchers]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=New Statesman|date=29 September 2014|quote=In the 1975 referendum on the UK's membership of the European Community, the Prime Minister Harold Wilson decided to suspend collective responsibility because of his cabinet being split on the issue. Cabinet ministers were allowed to vote with their consciences and also to campaign against each other.}}</ref> Despite [[UKIP]] leader [[Nigel Farage]] saying he would work with the Leader of the Labour Party, [[Jeremy Corbyn]], for a referendum to leave the EU<ref>{{cite news|last1=Silvera|first1=Ian|title=[https://archive.is/k64C0 Ukip Say No to EU launch: Nigel Farage wants to work with Jeremy Corbyn in Brexit referendum]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=International Business Times|date=4 September 2015}}</ref> and Corbyn being considered a Eurosceptic in the past, Corbyn was in favour of Britain staying in the EU.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Eaton|first1=George|title=[https://archive.is/C82S9 Where does Jeremy Corbyn stand on EU membership?]|accessdate=14 November 2015|work=New Statesman|date=14 September 2015}}</ref> This has raised issues within the Eurosceptic branches of Labour, as EU competition law (European Union directive 2012/34/EU<ref>{{cite web|last1=Farage|first1=Nigel|title=[https://archive.today/R217d/bac2c01c191945c577cb369fdf5147b8fe774900/scr.png Nigel Farage on Facebook (status)]|website=Facebook (via Breitbart)|accessdate=14 November 2015}}</ref>) may prohibit policies such as the renationalisation of British Rail.<ref name="Independent EU Corbyn 1" />

==Brexit==
{{main|Brexit}}
In 2016, Britain voted to leave the EU — a move which, at the time, caused fears of a "domino effect". Thankfully, movements in favor of leaving the EU in other member states may actually have ''lost'' ground since Brexit passed,<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/06/15/the-european-union-is-popular-again-but-there-are-reasons-for-brussels-to-worry/?utm_term=.01b02fd8790e</ref> possibly partly because the EU made sure it hurt as much as possible. On January 31st, 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union.

==See also==
*[[World War I]] and [[World War II]], the reasons why the EU was formed in the first place.
*[[Europhobia]]
*[[Brexit]]

==References==
{{reflist|3}}
[[Category:Alt-lite]]
[[Category:Political terms]]
[[Category:European Union]]
[[Category:Brexit]]
[[Category:Political philosophies]]

Categories: Alt-lite, Political terms, European Union, Brexit, Political philosophies