Merely seducing, or potentially convincing ? A personal analysis of Euroscepticism

With the European parliamentary elections coming up, parties have started preparing their campaign in view of attracting as many voters as possible. At this point in time where it is believed that the European Union finds itself in a crisis, the so-called Eurosceptic parties will undoubtedly be followed very closely by the other political groupings, the media and political scientists. The Euros seize the opportunity to take a closer look at those parties which pro-Europeans fear, but often also ignore. A personal analysis of what Euroscepticism really means.

Indeed, watching the campaign launches by certain Eurosceptic parties on television, I was wondering if, agnostically speaking, I could be convinced by the arguments Eurosceptic parties put forward. And if, on the basis of the often-mentioned manifestos or programmes, I could vote for a Eurosceptic party. This formed the start of a brief research on the party websites of the British UK Independence Party, the French Front National and the Belgian/Flemish Vlaams Belang. I considered these three parties as Eurosceptic parties, although this term is more often misused than used rightly. For this reason, it is perhaps first important to consider what exactly Euroscepticism means, as opposed to e.g. Eurocriticism, Europhobia or anti-EU programmes.