Between Soft and Hard Euroscepticism

Current views on the relevance of the European Union

R.M. Samoilescu

The genesis and different meanings of the term euroscepticism

As fundamental idea, euroscepticism is a political ideology towards the

European Union and towards European integration, in general. Sometimes this

scepticism goes hand in hand with the idea of keeping the identity and sovereignity of the European nations despite trying to create a European federal state. The accelerated pace of European integration since the early 1990s has been

accompanied by the emergence of increasingly prominent and multiform

oppositions to the process. The term Euroscepticism has appeared with growing frequency in a range of political, media, and academic discourses. Yet, the label is applied to a wide range of different, and occasionally contradictory, phenomena.

The genesis and different meanings of the term euroscepticism

Although originally associated with an English exceptionalism relative to a Continental project of political and economic integration, the term Euroscepticism is now also identified with a more general questioning of European Union institutions and policies which finds diverse expressions across the entire continent. Euroscepticism is a problematic term with definitional problems. Lets consider some alternative labels. Eurocriticism, Europhobia, Eurorealism and AntiEuropeanism. The term Eurocriticism can be seen as relatively specified. The Eurocritic sees merits in Europe and European integration, he just doesnt like all of it. In the usage of the term, a certain knowledge is implied. The Eurocritic knows what he is talking about, and makes an informed distinction between what she does like and what she does not like. This is even more the case for a Eurorealist.

The genesis and different meanings of the term euroscepticism

This person, in contrast to a Eurofantasist, sees Europe for what it really is. This

stands in sharp contrast to the Europhobe. As implied in the term phobia, The
Europhobe has some irrational fear about Europe. Finally, I would ask you to consider the term Anti-Europeanism. An Anti-Europeanist is more radical than the Eurocritic. This person doesnt like anything about Europe. All these four terms are actively used in both political debates and in scientific studies. There is a political struggle over the use of these terms. Say you oppose Europe in some matter or form. Than it is much more attractive to call yourself a Eurorealist than a Europhobe, as than at least, you imply that you know what you are talking about and that those who disagree with you live in a fantasy world. If, on the other hand, you like Europe, it is much more attractive to label those who disagree with you as Europhobes.

The genesis and different meanings of the term euroscepticism

Somewhere in the middle of all this lies Euroscepticism. All this goes to show that

the term Euroscepticism itself is ambiguous. It is ambiguous because the exact

extend or degree of opposition to Europe is unknown, and it is ambiguous to what extent the implied opposition to Europe is based on knowledge or rather on irrational fear. This is not just a scientific debate, but also a political debate about

what it means to be Eurosceptic and the term is often used in a pejorative manner
by non-Eurosceptics to discredit others.

Hard and soft euroscepticism

The perhaps most utilized overall definition was coined by political scientists

Aleks Szczerbiak and Paul Taggart in 2001. While directed towards party-based
euroscepticism, its two dimensionssoft and hardcan be applied to public scepticism as well. Soft euroscepticism is defined as the contingent or qualified opposition, while hard euroscepticism denotes the outright rejection of the process of European integration.

Hard Euroscepticism is where there is a principle opposition to the EU and European integration and therefore can be seen in parties who think that their countries should withdraw from membership, or whose policies towards the EU are tantamount to being opposed to the whole project of European integration as it is currently conceived.

Hard and soft euroscepticism

Soft Euroscepticism is where there is not a principled objection to European

integration or EU membership but where concerns on one (or a number) of policy

areas lead to the expression of qualified opposition to the EU, or where there is a sense that national interest is currently at odds with the EUs trajectory.

Hard and soft euroscepticism

Hard Euroscepticism- It implies instant objections to the whole European project

of economic and political integration and a opposition towards a country that would like to be a member of the European Union. Theoretically it includes the ones that reject the idea of any economical and political integration.

Soft Euroscepticism- It implies the contingent and qualified opposition of the

European integration. It can be divided in several groups, as follows: policy euroscepticism or national-interest euroscepticism.

Hard and soft euroscepticism

Policy euroscepticism- regards the opposition to initiatives of policies and it

expresses itself in the terms of opposition towards the enlargement of specific

competences of the European Union. In the candidate states it can refer to the policies that consider the proces of integration.

National-interest euroscepticism- regards engaging a rhetoric of defence or

national interest in the context of the debates about the European Union. This
type of euroscepticism is compatible with the support for the European Union project and it can include parties that approve certain policies of the EU, as the European integration , but these parties feel the need to sustain arguments in

favour of national interest to show the support the basis of the internal political
support.

Conclusions:

The concept of Euroscepticism can be viewed from various angles. A distinction

should be made between, on the one hand, Euroscepticism by in principle

pro-Europeans who are sceptical about the method and tools of European integration, and, on the other, anti-Europeans who are sceptical with regard to Europeanisation and the process of European integration in general.

Traditionally, Euroscepticism is the phenomenon that opposes European

integration through the Europeanisation of policies, legislation and politics. A diversity-related Euroscepticism is based on the notion that by Europeanisation cultural diversity and national identities are distorted.

Conlusions

This distortion cannot be justified by the economic and social benefits or political

cooperation resulting from Europeanisation.

Furthermore, European cooperation is undesirable because law and politics are culturally bound and should not be united with other cultures, since the interpretation of norms, laws and other values would not be the same in another

culture and would therefore be totally misunderstood or misapplied.

Bibliography

1. Kopecky, P. and Mudde:The two sides of Euroscepticism: Party Positions on European Integration in East Central Europe, European Union Politics vol. 3. 2. McLaren, L. (2007): Explaining Mass-Level Euroscepticism: Identity, Interests and Institutional Distrust, Acta Politica 42. 3. Taggart, P. and Szczerbiak, A. : Theorising Party-based Euroscepticism: Problems of Definition, Measurement and Causality. Taggart, P. and Szczerbiak, A. (2002): Crossing Europe: Patterns of Contemporary Party- Based Euroscepticism in EU Member States an d the Candidate States of Central and Eastern Europe.

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