PALGRAVE STUDIES IN EUROPEAN UNION POLITICS Series Editors: Michelle Egan, Neill Nugent and William E. Paterson Winner of the 2015 Xabier Mabille Prize for Best Thesis in Political Science OPPOSING EUROPE IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Rebels and Radicals in the Chamber Nathalie Brack Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics Series Editors Michelle Egan American University Washington, DC, USA Neill Nugent Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester, UK William E. Paterson Aston University Birmingham, UK Following on the sustained success of the acclaimed European Union Series, which essentially publishes research-based textbooks, Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics publishes cutting edge research- driven monographs. The remit of the series is broadly defned, both in terms of subject and academic discipline. All topics of signifcance con- cerning the nature and operation of the European Union potentially fall within the scope of the series. The series is multidisciplinary to refect the growing importance of the EU as a political, economic and social phenomenon. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14629 Nathalie Brack Opposing Europe in the European Parliament Rebels and Radicals in the Chamber Nathalie Brack Université Libre de Bruxelles Bruxelles, Belgium Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics ISBN 978-1-137-60199-5 ISBN 978-1-137-60201-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-60201-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017947170 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identifed as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. 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Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover illustration: CHROMORANGE/Ralph Peters/Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS These are challenging times for the EU. The term “crisis” has often been used to describe European integration as the EU is a political system in a state of quasi-permanent crisis. But the term crisis seems to have become truly meaningful in the last couple of years. Indeed, the EU is facing a “polymorphic crisis”. Since 2009, the ongoing economic crisis has called into question one of the central pillars of the European project’s legiti- macy, i.e. the economic prosperity it is supposed to bring to its citizens. More recently, the migration crisis evidences the division of European leaders and their inability to solve urgent issues, feeding the arguments of sovereigntist parties for closed borders and returning to the nation state. The EU is also facing a value crisis with governments in some countries calling liberal democracy into question and the rise of radical right parties in several Member states. And of course, Brexit attests to the rejection of the European project by a (small) majority of British citi- zens. As one Member state has decided, by referendum, to leave, the EU is now facing an existential crisis. Such a period provides fertile ground for the galvanization of opposi- tion to Europe. And it is not surprising that the 2014 EP elections saw the unprecedented success of Eurosceptic parties. Euroscepticism has become a stable of European politics but with the complex crisis, the integration process has entered a new phase characterized by the main- streaming of Euroscepticism: anti-EU rhetoric and arguments stressing the need for major reforms have become commonplace across the conti- nent, including among mainstream political parties. v vi PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Against this backdrop, these are not only challenging times for the EU but also very interesting times to be an EU-scholar, especially if one is interested in opposition to Europe. This research was initiated partly out of academic interest but mostly out of personal curiosity. I was sur- prised by the fact that people opposing the European Union would want to seat in the European Parliament. This seemed to me to be a paradox: Why are there Eurosceptics in the European chamber? I also was curi- ous as to how they see their job. How do they deal with the tension between the Eurosceptic platform they ran on and the tasks and expec- tations arising from the representative mandate? What are their strate- gies once inside the institution? Rather than focusing on the sources of Euroscepticism, I wanted to understand and explain the behaviours of Eurosceptics in the EP. Gathering data and meeting more than a hundred Eurosceptic MEPs were quite time-consuming. But it is, I believe, the best way to fully grasp the paradoxical situation of these actors. This research provides a detailed picture of the strategies of Eurosceptics in the EP and the moti- vation behind their behaviour. But it also provides food for thought on the implications of their presence at the heart of the EU and on what these actors can bring to the table to contribute to alleviating the EU’s democratic defcit. The research and writing process can sometimes be a lonely path. But I was lucky to be able to count on the help and support of colleagues and friends. Over the course of this project, I have received many use- ful suggestions that have helped me improve the analysis and arguments presented in the chapters of this book. I would like to extend a special thanks to Olivier Costa, Jean-Benoit Pilet, Jean-Michel De Waele, Kris Deschouwer and Simon Usherwood who provided insightful comments on various parts of this research. This research would not have been pos- sible without the help of many MEPs, parliamentary assistants and EP civil servants, who I would like to thank. This project, at an early stage, was presented during my stay at the St Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. I would like to thank the participants of the seminar for their comments and especially Kalypso Nicolaïdis for her support and useful suggestions. I would also like to express my gratitude to the series editors for their careful reading of the manuscript and their many useful suggestions as PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii well as to Imogen Gordon Clark, Steven Kennedy and the Palgrave team for their help, patience and work on this book. I gratefully acknowledge the fnancial assistance of the Université libre de Bruxelles which made this research and its publication possible. Finally, my friends have been a considerable source of encouragement, notably Katya who I especially thank for her careful reading and helpful advice as well as Karel, Corinne and Lou for their love and support. Bruxelles, Belgium Nathalie Brack CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Political Representation Beyond the Nation State 15 3 Euroscepticism in the European Parliament 51 4 Strategies of Eurosceptic MEPs 83 5 The EP, an “Unrewarding” Location for Eurosceptics? 115 6 Explaining the Roles of Eurosceptic MEPs 147 7 General Conclusion: The Impact of Eurosceptic MEPs 173 Appendix 1: Operationalization of the concept of role 193 Appendix 2: Ordered Logit Model for the Typology of Roles, all Independent Variables 195 ix x CONTENTS Interviews List 197 Bibliography 203 Index 211 ABBREVIATIONS AFCO Constitutional Affairs Committee ALDE Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe AT Austria BE Belgium CY Cyprus CZ The Czech Republic DE Germany DK Denmark ECR European Conservatives and Reformists EFD Europe of Freedom and Democracy EFDD Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy ENF Europe of Nations and Freedom EP European Parliament EPP European’s People Party ES Spain EU European Union EUL/NGL European United Left/Nordic Green Left FI Finland FN Front National FR France GR Greece Greens/EFA Greens/European Free Alliance HR Croatia HU Hungary IND/DEM Independence/Democracy IRL Ireland xi xii ABBREViations IT Italy ITS Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty LIBE Civil liberties, Justice and Home affairs committee LU Luxemburg MEPs Members of the European Parliament NA Non-attached members NL The Netherlands PES Party of European Socialists PL Poland PT Portugal PVV Party for Freedom RoP Rules of Procedure S&D Socialists and Democrats SE Sweden UEN Union for Europe of the Nations UK United Kingdom UKIP UK Independence