A Study of the Origins and Development of Euroscepticism in the European Union

• Main Authors: Kszczotek, Filip Sebastian, 林彥勳
• Other Authors: Lin, Yung Fang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/32903242966601733182

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 國際研究英語碩士學位學程 (IMPIS) === 104 === In the past decade, people have witnessed that one single event may alter the political situation of a single country, region or even the whole world. In case of the EU, the 2014 European parliamentary election was one of them. Referred to by many researchers as a “political earthquake,” this event made it possible for the euroscepetic movement to emerge from the shadows and pose a threat to the European integration process. The presence of euroscepticism in the European Parliament may be seen as the beginning of the end of the EU or perhaps just a temporary crisis of trust. This study seeks to analyze the factors that contributed to the rise of euroscepticism since the beginning of the EU. Moreover, the impact of the 2014 European parliamentary election on European stability and the domestic political situation is also included in this paper. Finally, the author applies two-level games theory to find a proper solution to the rise of euroscepticism and the problem of potential European disintegration. Many observers claim that eurosceptic parties do not pose a threat to European integration. I suggest that euroscepticism should be recognized as one of the main problems to which the EU must respond effectively in the near future. By answering three research questions, the author gives further insight into the power gained by most of the eurosceptic political parties. Furthermore, based on the two-level games theory and the role of negotiations, the possible implications in dealing with euroscepticism are included in this paper.