Mass Awakening - The Total Decentralization Of Monopoly Power Begins - Long Live Liberty - Supoport The Change - Get Involved - 24 Hours To Tame The Banks - Voluntary Action = Less Government

 

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TO GEORGE OSBORNE AND ALL EU FINANCE MINISTERS:

As concerned citizens we call on you to cap bankers’ bonuses across the EU to no more than the amount of their fixed salary. This is a crucial part of preventing bankers taking excessive risks which can destabilise their institutions and our entire economies. We count on you to take this step to tame the banking giants.

The banks crashed our economies, causing a wave of unemployment, evictions and cuts, but bankers are still raking in massive pay cheques. We have a chance to end this madness in 24 hours, but the British government stands in our way.

Bankers run outrageous risks, driven by the lure of big bonuses. EU plans to stop bankers getting bonuses higher than their salaries are now being ambushed by George Osborne. Public pressure now can push our finance ministers to take a stand against the bankers’ greed that caused the crash in the first place!

We have 24 hours -- the bankers’ lobby is massive, but our politicians know they can’t get re-elected if they favour friends in high finance while our jobs and services disappear. Sign the petition to George Osborne and other EU finance ministers now -- which we’ll deliver to Osborne's door and via the media on the day of the talks -- and share it with all your friends across the UK!

Sign The Petition Here: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/uk_bankers_champagne_on_our_tab_a/?fkXLXab&pv=10


Euroscepticism (sometimes euroskepticism) is the body of criticism of the European Union (EU), and opposition to the process of political European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state. Other views occasionally seen as eurosceptic include perceptions of the EU being undemocratic or too bureaucratic.^[1][2] A Eurobarometer survey of EU citizens in 2009 showed that support for membership of the EU was lowest in Latvia, the United Kingdom, and Hungary.^[3]:91–3 Euroscepticism is found across political parties across the left and right, but tends to be more common on the right.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Terminology 2 Eurobarometer survey Spring 2012 3 History in the European Parliament 3.1 1999–2004 3.2 2004–2009 3.3 2009 elections 4 List of Eurosceptic parties 4.1 Austria 4.2 Belgium 4.3 Bulgaria 4.4 Croatia 4.5 Czech Republic 4.6 Denmark 4.7 Estonia 4.8 Finland 4.9 France 4.10 Greece 4.11 Hungary 4.12 Ireland 4.13 Italy 4.14 Luxembourg 4.15 Netherlands 4.16 Norway 4.17 Poland 4.18 Portugal 4.19 Sweden 4.20 Switzerland 4.21 United Kingdom 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 References

Terminology

There can be considered to be two different types of Eurosceptic thought, which differ in the extent to which adherents reject European integration and in their reasons for doing so. Aleks Szczerbiak and Paul Taggart described these as 'hard' and 'soft' euroscepticism.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}
Hard euroscepticism is the opposition to membership of, or the existence of, the European Union as a matter of principle.^[7] The Europe of Freedom and Democracy group in the European Parliament, typified by such parties as the United Kingdom Independence Party, is hard eurosceptic. In western European EU member countries, hard euroscepticism is currently a hallmark of many anti-establishment parties.^[9] Though in the UK Independence Party case, it is a centre-right wing populist party, which is pro establishment supporting the monarchy.
Soft euroscepticism is support for the existence of, and membership of, a form of European Union, but with opposition to specific EU policies, and opposition to a federal Europe.^[10] The European Conservatives and Reformists group, typified by centre-right parties such as the British Conservative Party, along with the European United Left–Nordic Green Left which is an alliance of the left-wing parties in the European Parliament, is soft eurosceptic.
Alternative names for 'hard' and 'soft' euroscepticism are respectively 'withdrawalist' and 'reformist' euroscepticism. Some 'hard' eurosceptics such as UKIP prefer to call themselves euro-realists rather than 'sceptics', and regard their position as pragmatic rather than "in principle". Also many on the left such as Tony Benn tend not to use the phrase to refer to themselves even though they share many of their criticisms of the European Union and they may use phrases such as euro-critical or just call themselves democrats or socialists and their scepticism as part of their wider belief in democracy or socialism.
The Czech President Václav Klaus rejected the term "euroscepticism", with its purported negative undertones, saying (at a meeting in April 2012) that the expressions for a eurosceptic and his opponent should be "a Euro-realist" and someone who is "Euro-naïve" (respectively).^{[this quote needs a citation]}

Eurobarometer survey Spring 2012

A survey in 2012, conducted by TNS Opinion and Social on behalf of the European Commission, showed that, for the European Union overall, those who think that their country's interests are looked after well in the EU are now in a minority (42%).^[11] Those with a positive image of the EU are down from a high of 52% in 2007 to a low of 31% in May 2012 (unchanged since November 2011); this compares with 28% with a negative image of the EU, and 39% with a neutral image (up from a low of 14% in 2007).^[12][13]
About 31% of EU citizens tend to trust the European Union as an institution, and about 60 percent do not tend to trust it.^[14] Trust in the EU has fallen from a high of 57% in 2007 to 31% in 2012, while trust in national governments has fallen from 43% in 2007 to 28% in 2012; so the EU has moved from enjoying much more trust than national governments in 2007 to a position of enjoying only slightly more trust than national governments in 2012.^[13] Trust in the EU is lowest in the United Kingdom (16% trust, 75% distrust) and highest in Bulgaria (55% trust; 15% distrust). Trust in national governments in these two countries is 21% (distrust 77%) and 28% (distrust 64%) respectively.^[14]

History in the European Parliament

This section requires expansion. (June 2009)

1999–2004

A study analyzed voting records of the Fifth European Parliament and ranked groups, concluding:^[15] "Towards the top of the figure are the more pro-European parties (PES, EPP-ED, and ALDE), whereas towards the bottom of the figure are the more anti-European parties (EUL/NGL, G/EFA, UEN and EDD)."

2004–2009

In 2004, 37 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the UK, Poland, Denmark and Sweden founded a new European Parliament group called “Independence and Democracy” from the old Europe of Democracies and Diversities (EDD) group.
The main goals of the ID group were to reject the proposed Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe. Some delegations within the group, notably the United Kingdom Independence Party, also advocate the complete withdrawal of their country from the EU whilst others only wish to limit further European integration.

2009 elections

The elections in 2009 saw a significant drop in some areas in support for Eurosceptic parties, with all MEPs from Poland, Denmark and Sweden losing their seats. However, in the UK, the eurosceptic United Kingdom Independence Party achieved second place in the elections, finishing ahead of the governing Labour Party, and the British National Party (BNP) won its first ever two MEPs. Although new members joined the ID group from Greece and the Netherlands, it was unclear as to whether the ID group would reform in the new parliament.
The ID group did reform, as the Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) and is represented by 32 MEPs from nine countries.

List of Eurosceptic parties

This section requires expansion. (June 2010)

Austria

Alliance for the Future of Austria, Freedom Party of Austria, Team Stronach EU Withdrawal Party^{[citation needed]}.

Belgium

Vlaams Belang

Bulgaria

IMRO – Bulgarian National Movement, Ataka

Croatia

Croatian Party of Rights

Czech Republic

In May 2010, the Czech president Václav Klaus claimed that they "needn’t hurry to enter the Euro zone".^[16]
Petr Mach, an economist, a close associate of president Václav Klaus and a member of the Civic Democratic Party between 1997 and 2007, founded the Free Citizens Party in 2009. The party aims to mainly attract dissatisfied Civic Democratic Party voters.^[17] At the time of the Lisbon Treaty ratification, they were actively campaigning against it,^[18][19] unlike the governing Civic Democratic Party, who endorsed it in the Chamber of Deputies.^[20] After the treaty has been ratified, they are in favor of withdrawing from the European Union completely.^[21]

Denmark

Main article: Denmark and the European Union

The Unity Party and Socialist People's Party (Greens) were against accession to the European Union, but only the Unity Party has withdrawal from the EU as a policy. The right wing Danish People's Party also advocate withdrawal.

Estonia

The Independence Party and Centre Party were against accession to the EU, but only the Independence Party still wants Estonia to withdraw from the European Union.

Finland

Whereas the current Finnish administration (notably Jutta Urpilainen) has been more hesitant towards the EU monetary policy than the previous ones, Eurobarometers and other polls have shown that among Finnish citizens, the opinion trend has been somewhat reversed during recent years. In Eurobarometer 77 (fieldwork in Spring 2012), 41% of Finns trusted the European Union (EU-27 average: 31%), 51% trusted The European Parliament (average: 40%), and 74% were in favor of the euro currency (average: 52%). The rise of a pro-European sentiment is mainly due to the existent wave of general internationalization in Finland.
Distinctively eurosceptic Finnish parties are True Finns, Independence Party, Communist Party of Finland and Workers Party of Finland.

France

In France, many parties are more or less radically Eurosceptic, varying from advocating less EU intervention in national affairs to advocating outright withdrawal from the EU as it is and from the Eurozone. These parties belong to all sides of the political spectrum so the reasons for their Euroscepticism may differ, but they all opposed the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon. Many French people are uninterested in such matters: only 40% of the French electorate voted in the 2009 European Parliament elections.^[22]
Moderate right-leaning Eurosceptic parties include the Gaullist Debout la République, and also the Mouvement pour la France, and Chasse, Pêche, Nature & Traditions, both of which joined Libertas, a pan-European Eurosceptic party.^[23] In the 2009 European Parliament elections, Debout la République obtained 1.77% of the national vote, and Libertas 4.8%. In a similar way to the moderate parties, the French far right in general is naturally opposed to the EU, as they criticize France's loss of political and economic sovereignty to a supra-national entity. The main far right political party is the Front National.^[24] The party obtained 6.5% of the votes, which makes it the largest Eurosceptic party in France.
Left-wing Eurosceptic parties tend to criticize the liberal agenda of the EU, although they usually support a unification of countries (albeit under a socialist system) and the abolition of national borders. They include the Parti de Gauche and the French Communist Party, which formed the Front de Gauche for the 2009 European Parliament elections and obtained 6.3% of the votes. The other major far-left eurosceptic parties are the New Anticapitalist Party^[25] which obtained 4.8% and Lutte Ouvrière^[26] which obtained 1.2%. The Citizen and Republican Movement, a left-wing eurosceptic and souverainist party, did not participate in the 2009 elections.

Greece

Communist Party of Greece, Golden Dawn (Greece), Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow, Popular Orthodox Rally

Hungary

Jobbik, Politics Can Be Different (soft eurosceptic)

Ireland

The left wing republican party Sinn Féin is a party which opposes the current structure of the European Union and the direction it is moving in.^[27] Sinn Féin objects to the limitations and restrictions European Union membership has placed on the Republic of Ireland, as well as the European depletion of Irish sovereignty.^[28]
The United Left Alliance is an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland. It shares some common views on Europe with Sinn Féin.^[29]

Italy

Five Star Movement, Lega Nord, La Destra, Fiamma Tricolore, No Euro Movement,

Luxembourg

The Alternative Democratic Reform Party is a soft eurosceptic party.^[30] It is a member of the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists.

Netherlands

Party for Freedom, Socialist Party, Reformed Political Party and ChristianUnion

Norway

Norway has rejected EU membership in two referendums, 1972 and 1994. The Centre Party, Christian Democratic Party, Socialist Left Party and the Liberal Party were against EU-membership in both referendums. The Centre Party and Socialist Left Party are also against the current membership in the European Economic Community.^[31] The Centre Party is generally considered to have the hardest stance against EU membership. The Liberal Party is currently quite split over the issue.

Poland

"Trumna dla rybaków" ("Coffin for fishermen") sign visible on side of many Polish fishing boats. Polish fishermen protest against EU prohibition of fishing cod by Polish ships.

Congress of the New Right, Real Politics Union, United Poland

Portugal

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

National Renovator Party, New Democracy Party, Portuguese Communist Party, People's Party (Soft eurosceptic)

Sweden

The Left Party of Sweden was against accession to the European Union and still wants Sweden to leave the European Union.^[32] The Sweden Democrats are also strongly against the Union and favours withdrawal and rejoin the EEA.^[33] The Centre Party and Green Party are moderately skeptic towards the EU as well.
The June List, a eurosceptic list consisting of members from both the political right and left won three seats in the 2004 Elections to the European Parliament and sat in the EU-critical IND/DEM group in the European Parliament.

Switzerland

Swiss Democrats, Ticino League, Swiss People's Party are against accession of Switzerland to the European Union.

United Kingdom

Main article: Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom

Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom has been a significant element in British politics since the inception of the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor to the EU.
The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) was formed in 1993 and focuses on EU-withdrawal as its primary policy and receives significant support in European elections. It received 16.5% of the vote at the 2009 European Parliament elections, putting it in second place ahead of the then governing Labour Party. The far-right British National Party (BNP) is another strongly eurosceptic party that campaigns heavily for withdrawal. Two BNP candidates, Andrew Brons and Nick Griffin, were elected to the European Parliament in 2009.
The Conservative Party has campaigned against entry to the European Monetary Union and the Social chapter. The Conservative Party has for years been split on the issue of Europe, with some arguing for the full withdrawal subject to a referendum but many supporting the Union though powers should be sought back from Brussels and the Union should be less of a political and economic union.
The Labour Party membership is more eurosceptic than the party leadership, which is something the Conservative leadership has sought to exploit.^[34] Bernie Grant, a Labour Member of Parliament said that he was "totally pro-Commonwealth and anti-European Union".
The Communist Party of Britain and The Socialist Workers Party, neither of which have any considerable power or influence, with not one seat in Parliament nor in a local council, both criticise the European Union from an ultra-left perspective and their "scepticism" is a form of left-wing euroscepticism although its adherents may reject the term.
The Green Party of England and Wales, which has one seat in Parliament in the House of Commons, also rejects the term "eurosceptic"; however it opposes the Euro and is critical of the current direction and structure of the EU.

See also

• Europeanism
• Pro-Europeanism

[show] v t e European Union topics

Footnotes

1. ^ Kopel, David, Silencing opposition in the EU.
2. ^ Hannan, Daniel (2007-11-14). "Why aren't we shocked by a corrupt EU?". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2010-05-02.
3. ^ "Standard Eurobarometer 71 (fieldwork June–July 2009)" (pdf). European Commission. September 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
4. ^ Arato, Krisztina; Kaniok, Petr. Euroscepticism and European Integration. CPI/PSRC. p. 162. ISBN 978-953-7022-20-4.
5. ^ Harmsen et al (2005), p. 18.
6. ^ Gifford, Chris (2008). The Making of Eurosceptic Britain. Ashgate Publishing. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-7546-7074-2.
7. ^ ^{a b} Szczerbiak et al (2008), p. 7
8. ^ Lewis, Paul G; Webb, Paul D (2003). Pan-European Perspectives on Party Politics. Brill. p. 211. ISBN 978-90-04-13014-2.
9. ^ Harmsen et al. (2005), p. 31–2
10. ^ Szczerbiak et al (2008), p. 8
11. ^ TNS Opinion and Social (July 2012). "Question A21a.2" (pdf). Standard Eurobarometer 77 Table of Results. European Commission. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
    Question: "The interests of (OUR COUNTRY) are well taken into account in the EU."
    • Total agree: 42%
    • Total disagree: 50%
12. ^ TNS Opinion and Social (July 2012). "Question A14" (pdf). Standard Eurobarometer 77 Table of Results. European Commission. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
    Question: "In general, does the EU conjure up for you a very positive, fairly positive, neutral, fairly negative of very negative image?
    • Very positive: 3%
    • Fairly positive: 28%
    • Neutral: 39%
    • Fairly negative: 22%
    • Very negative: 6%
13. ^ ^{a b} TNS Opinion and Social (July 2012) (pdf). Standard Eurobarometer 77 (fieldwork May 2012). European Commission. p. 14. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
14. ^ ^{a b} TNS Opinion and Social (July 2012). "Question A13" (pdf). Standard Eurobarometer 77 Table of Results. European Commission. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
    Question: "QA13.4 I would like to ask you a question about how much trust you have in certain institutions. For each of the following institutions, please tell me if you tend to trust it or tend not to trust it:
    • European Union:
      • Tend to trust: 31%
      • Tend not to trust: 60%
      • Don't know: 9%
    • National government (of respondent):
      • Tend to trust: 28%
      • Tend not to trust: 67%
      • Don't know: 5%
15. ^ Hix, Simon; Noury, Abdul (PDF), After Enlargement: Voting Behaviour in the Sixth European Parliament.
16. ^ Kolyako, Nina. "Czech Republic is in no rush to implement euro". The Baltic Course. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
17. ^ (in Czech) Petr Mach zvolen do čela Strany svobodných občanů, CZ: CT24, 2009-02-14.
18. ^ (in Czech), CZ: Svobodni, 2009-05-02, http://www.svobodni.cz/media/tiskove-zpravy/213-vyzva-senatorum/ Výzva senátorům.
19. ^ (in Czech) Veřejné čtení Lisabonské smlouvy již tuto neděli, CZ: Svobodni, 2009-04-15.
20. ^ EU Dodges Constitutional Hurdle as Czechs Back Treaty (Update 2), Bloomberg, 2009-02-18
21. ^ (in Czech) Postoje Svobodných — Evropa svobodných států, CZ: Svobodni.
22. ^ "Européenes : l’UMP en tête, le PS en fort recul" (in French). Le Monde. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
23. ^ "Européenes : la dynamique inédite du eurosceptcism" (in French). Euros du village. 2010-04-29. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
24. ^ "Europe" (in French). Front National. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
25. ^ "Leur Europe n’est pas la nôtre !" (in French). NPA. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
26. ^ "L'Europe" (in French). Lutte Ouvrière. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
27. ^ "Sinn Féin Wants To Drag Ireland Into Eurosceptic Slipstream Of British Tory Party". Ireland for Europe: Media Centre. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
28. ^ "Republican SF argues treaty a further erosion of sovereignty". The Irish Times. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
29. ^ "Column: Hollande wants to re-negotiate the treaty – but what does that mean for Ireland?". Thejournal.ie. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
30. ^ (French) Dumont, Patrick; Fehlen, Fernand; Kies, Raphaël; Poirier, Philippe (2006). Les élections législatives et européennes de 2004 au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Chamber of Deputies. p. 220.
31. ^ NOU 2012: 2: Utenfor og innenfor (In Norwegian), Ministry of Foreign Affaires, retrieved September 28, 2012
32. ^ Szczerbiak et al (2008), p. 183.
33. ^ http://sverigedemokraterna.se/vara-asikter/var-politik-a-till-o/
34. ^ Gower, Jackie; Thomson, Ian, The European Union handbook, p. 80