Nathalie Brack

Introduction: Euroscepticism, from the margins to the mainstream

With the advent of the Eurozone crisis, Euroscepticism has become increasingly mainstreamed. This is discernible across Europe at the level of public opinion, among political parties and civil society groups, within the EU institutions themselves and in terms of changing and more challenging media discourses. Against the backdrop of the 2014 European elections and a potential referendum on UK membership of the EU, the purpose of this article is to introduce an evolving debate. It begins with discussion of the ‘state of the art’ with regard to the study of Euroscepticism, before focusing on the significance of the latest European elections themselves. It then provides an overview of the various articles in the collection, explaining their relevance in helping to unravel the complexity and diversity of opposition towards ‘Europe’ and the extent to which Euroscepticism has become part of the mainstream with regard to European political debate.

Eurosceptics in the European Parliament: Exit or Voice?

Abstract Euroscepticism at the supranational level has remained largely overlooked by scholars. In an attempt to fill in this gap, this article focuses on the persistent minority of hard Eurosceptic MEPs. The objective is twofold. First, it aims to determine how Eurosceptic MEPs conceive and carry out their representative mandate. Second, it analyzes the impact of the institutional framework and of the visions of Europe on the strategies of these MEPs. Drawing on the insights of role theory and the dichotomy of A. Hirschman and using a qualitative methodology, the article proposes a typology of three main parliamentary roles (the absentee, the pragmatist and the public orator), corresponding to a continuum between exit and voice. It also shows that both the visions of Europe as well as the institutional context affect the parliamentary roles of MEPs.

The roles of Eurosceptic Members of the European Parliament and their implications for the EU

The 2014 European elections demonstrated the scale and success of the EU’s opponents. Radical and populist parties topped the polls in some countries while others gained parliamentary representation for the first time. At the same time, Euroscepticism has entered the mainstream, with an increase of anti-EU rhetoric among government parties and the European Conservative and Reformist group becoming the third largest party in the European Parliament. In this context, this article aims at analysing the strategies developed by Eurosceptics from the left, the right and the mainstream once elected to parliament but also at providing food for thought regarding the implications of an (increased) presence of Eurosceptic MEPs. It provides a typology of four roles played by Eurosceptics, showing the diversity of their strategies. It then argues that the presence of these dissenting voices might be an asset for the EU’s legitimacy.

European integration and consensus politics in the low countries

This interesting edited volume is the result of the efforts of three teams, from the Universities of Antwerp, Leiden and Luxembourg. It includes contributions from a number of leading academics in ...

Beyond the Pro/Anti-Europe Divide: Diverging Views of Europe within EU Institutions

Abstract This general introduction aims at explaining the rationale behind this special issue. EU institutions have long been seen as bastions for Europhile actors and they indeed seem to have, over time, promoted further European integration. This pro-integration bias is here examined through the analysis of three interrelated factors: ideas, interests and institutional logics. But this introduction also shows that there have been diverging views of Europe among EU elites and therefore we argue that it is necessary to explore these views and their impact on EU institutions but also to go beyond the binary pro/anti-Europe divide. It exposes the main research questions that structure the special issue and briefly presents the different articles.

Belgium in Search of a Stance on Today’s EU Integration Dilemmas

Despite the multiple crises Europe currently faces, the salience of EU affairs in Belgium remains low and popular support for the EU above average. However, since the main party in the governing coalition, the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA), decided to exit the long-standing Belgian pro-EU consensus by labelling itself Eurorealist, Belgium’s voice in EU affairs seems to be fading. The latent tensions between the governing parties lead to a crucial lack of ambition and impact on the debates on Brexit and on the future of European integration.

Democracy in parliament vs. democracy through parliament? : Defining the rules of the game in the European Parliament

ABSTRACT While an extensive (US) literature stresses the importance of procedural rules in the evolution of parliaments as well as in the legislative process, very few studies have focused on the European Parliament (EP) rules. Whereas the EPs empowerment was significantly influenced by its rules of procedure, the reforms of these rules and their consequences for political actors remain understudied. This paper aims to contribute to the theorisation of the EPs institutional dynamics in light of the North American theories. It examines the challenges faced by the EP due to the rationalisation of its deliberation and the consequences of the procedural changes for the institution, its members and its public image. On the basis of a qualitative analysis of the revisions of the EP rules of procedure from April 1979 to January 2017, it is shown that institutional efficiency has become an objective in itself, but the reforms have had a strong distributive effect by reducing members of the European Parliament’s freedom of action. The various reforms have strengthened ‘democracy through parliament’ at the expense of ‘democracy in parliament’, which could have tremendous consequences for the EPs image among public opinion.

Introduction: the European Parliament at a crossroads

ABSTRACT This introductory article discusses the rationale and the aim of this special issue on the European Parliament. Examining the ongoing multidimensional crisis the EU is facing, it emphasizes how the current content has reduced the EU output legitimacy. It also argues that the Parliament has been affected by the recent developments. On the one hand, it has been further empowered with the Lisbon Treaty and the Spitzenkandidaten procedure. On the other hand, the management of the crisis has been essentially intergovernmental and the EP has been sidelined. A second section critically discusses the literature on the EP and highlights the need to further develop our understanding of this institution, which cannot yet be called a ‘normal parliament’. It then presents the articles composing this special issue.

Euroscepticism in the European Parliament

The development of anti-EU sentiment is one of the most important features of the integration process over the last two decades. The ongoing economic, political and migration crisis has provided fertile ground for the galvanization of oppositions to the EU. Euroscepticism has progressively become embedded at the national and supranational levels and is now part of the mainstream. This chapter aims at understanding Euroscepticism at the European level. The first section places Euroscepticism within a broader historical context through an up-to-date review of the literature. The next section reviews the main conceptualizations and their shortcomings before explaining how Euroscepticism is defined in the framework of this book. It is argued that Euroscepticism should be seen as an anti-system opposition. The final section empirically examines who the Eurosceptic MEPs are between 2004 and 2016.

Political Representation Beyond the Nation State

Representation is at the core of modern democracies. But as complex phenomenon, it can be studied from a number of different angles. This chapter offers a critical review of the relevant literature on political representation in legislative and EU studies and presents the theoretical foundation of this book. It concentrates first on studies devoted to the “descriptive” or symbolic side of representation, trying to assess the representativeness of the EP. A second part turns to the “substantive” approach to representation. It discusses studies devoted to the relationships between MEPs, political parties and constituents as well as the limited research on political roles within the EP. A third section discusses the insights of role theory and more particularly the motivational approach. The claim here is that such an approach provides a comprehensive analytical framework that helps understand how Eurosceptic MEPs conceive and carry out their mandate.