Euroskepticism’s Many Faces: The Cases of Hungary and the UK

While increasing numbers of Europeans are skeptical about the EU, the primary causes behind Euroskepticism vary widely from country to country. Our paper examines the differing sources of Euroskepticism within Hungary and the United Kingdom, using these examples as case studies for the broader EU. Hungarian Euroskeptics accuse the EU of suppressing Hungarian culture and violating the country’s national sovereignty, fostering a growing sense that EU membership has not brought the promised benefits. The primary driving forces behind British Euroskepticism, however, are opposition to intra-EU immigration and a sense that the island nation is inherently separate from the Continent. The case studies of Hungary and the UK demonstrate that the motives behind Euroskepticism vary widely across the continent. If confidence in the EU is to be restored, the wide array of concerns held by various Euroskeptic groups must be specifically addressed