Euroscepticism Across Europe: Drivers and Challenges

This paper addresses the issue of euroscepticism expansion across Europe. This phenomenon has steadily grown into one of the biggest challenges to the European construction, and has consequentially become a major concern to politicians, as well as regular citizens. This analysis uses data from Eurobarometer surveys regarding the decline of public trust in the European institutions. The findings suggest that some of the main drivers of eurosceptics stands include: disagreement with EU policies, economic challenges associated with the enlargement process, as well as the extent of national sovereignty within the EU. Thus, while European leaders develop policies to improve economic crisis, ordinary citizens are beginning to question the legitimacy of the EU, feeling they have been forced to accept things they did not want. This paper argues that the beliefs of the EU member states’ citizens confirm the fears of political actors. It seems extensive bureaucracy, and political failures seem to diminish the trust of the European citizens in the positive effects of further integration, and might support the opposite—disintegration.