DEBATING EUROPESERIES

•Seminar 4:

EUROSCEPTICISM:CRITICALTHINKING IN THEUK

LEE MCGOWAN

QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY BELFAST

Euroscepticism 'expresses the idea of contingent or qualified opposition, as well as incorporating outright and unqualified opposition to the process of European integration‘ (Taggart 1998: 366)

But need to be more precise 1 - Hard Euroscepticism implies outright rejection

of the entire project of European political and economic integration and opposition to their country joining or remaining members of the EU’

2 - Soft Euroscepticism involves contingent or qualified opposition to European integration and can, in turn be further sub-divided into 'policy' Euroscepticism and 'national interest‘ Euroscepticism’ (Taggart and Szczerbiak 2001)

EUROPHILE EUROPHOBESupport for the EU

EU Optimist Euroenthusiasts europragmatistsEU Pessimist Eurosceptics Eurorejects

Euroscepticism has become major theme within both parliamentary and public discourse

Need to understand context and country under investigation

UK PUBLIC DEBATE in 1980s 1985 in The Times (Harmsen and

Spiering, 2004) Anti-marketeers had been widely used term

Thatcher speech in Bruges, 1988 Maastricht Treaty, 1991- eurosceptics

HOW TO MEASURE: 3 DOMAINS HOW TO MEASURE: 3 DOMAINS OF EUROSCEPTICISMOF EUROSCEPTICISM

1 POLITICS (discourse within national parties and interest groups on the EU)

2 POLICIES (where policies set at the EU level impact on the MS – e.g agriculture, fisheries, euro, immigration)

3 CITIZEN/PUBLIC OPINION (and wider cultural aspects)citizen. `Uncorking the anti-EU bottle’ (Hix) from early 1990s - referenda – (1975 on EEC) but nothing since in the UK case when EU has evolved – hence current demands

CONSERVATIVES – more eurosceptical◦ Thatcher’s first EEC summit in Strasbourg in

1979 – ‘she was hostile to the European Community form the beginning’ (Giscard in Moore, 447)

◦ “Far from joining a prosperous trading bloc, we shackled ourselves to a corpse. We are now actually having to pay to prop up a zombie currency we didn’t even join.” (Douglas Carswell)

◦ Cameron pledge (January, 2013) to hold a referendum if.... And things moved fast

UKIP AND FARRAGE FACTOR◦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqovTGjYjM4◦ Response to Van Rompuy

◦ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAt27-2cR6g◦ ‘Dangerous people’ - WHO DO YOU PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE?

LABOUR PARTY – BLAIR COULD NOT DELIVER ON EURO – FEEDS INTO DICSUSSIONS OF UK as an ‘awkward partner’, ‘semi-detached’

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS PARTIES IN NORTHERN IRELAND MEPs from NI. Debates and Presence? FACTS: Clear shift to more critical position on

EU membership over time◦ May 2001 – 68% wanted to remain in UK to 19%

wanted to leave – regional variations!!!! 1975 EEC Referendum where 66% voted

to stay in the Common Market

 19%.

                                                                                                                             

1973 – ENTRY EU GOVERNANCE (via Treaties) INADEQUATE DISSEMINATION BY

SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS◦ COMPLEX? ◦ INCOMPREHENSIBLE? ◦ ELITE DRIVE? ◦ UNDEMOCRATIC?

ROLE OF MEDIA NEEDS EVALUATED VACUUM FOR ANTI-EU STORIES TO

APPEAR

INFORMATION/MISINFORMATION/DISINFORMATION

KNOWLEDGE OF EU (especially among young) Does EU matter? Is there a better model for inter-state

cooperation? What is in the referendum? What can be re-negotiated What happens if the UK were to leave Does a NO vote or eurosceptic drift actually

threaten the UK union? UK cultural links to continent - language

NOT SAME AS EEC POST LISBON: COMPETENCES –

◦ 5 exclusive to the Union◦ Shared◦ Marginal

POWERS FOR THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT◦ OLP: CO-LEGISLATOR

MORE TRANSPARENCY CITIZENS PETITION SEEKING GREATER ENGAGEMENT

1973 – entry into EEC NI AND EU – Direct rule – marginal interest for

many? 1975 – MAJORITY JUST VOTED YES in NI

◦ Difference then between two main communities MEPs – hear about elections to the EP and then? Funds and grants – CAP, CFP, URBAN INTERREG By 2002 – greater support – 2 main communities

aligned and greater support for EU in NI than in GB - confirmed in 2008 EB

Still marginal issue - Barroso Task Force