All posts tagged: Euroskeptics

Euroskeptic think tanks on the rise as Brussels slashes funding for pro-EU groups – POLITICO

Euroskeptic think tanks on the rise as Brussels slashes funding for pro-EU groups – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“There was little concern from the European Commission or affiliated organizations and think tanks when progressive NGOs in Europe received substantial support from the United States (including via USAID and other programs),” he said. “Only now, when funding may reach their political opponents, is it being framed as ‘foreign interference.’” Broader cuts Zuleeg, the EPC chief, said the non-renewal of the CERV money, which amounts to around €250,000 per year, would mean the organization cuts back on work related to topics such as democracy and citizens’ participation. And while he made a distinction between think tanks, which organize events or commission research, and NGOs, which do the same but tend to advocate for a specific cause, Zuleeg said that the CERV grant cut “does also reflect in part, the controversy around funding going to advocacy organizations.” Flags from the 27 countries of the EU in front of the European Parliament in Brussels in April 2025. | Thierry Monasse/Getty Images That’s a reference to increased scrutiny from the same right-wing groups, as well as conservative politicians, …

Removing EU flags is ‘betrayal,’ French minister tells far-right mayors – POLITICO

Removing EU flags is ‘betrayal,’ French minister tells far-right mayors – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

He added: “There is no dissolution of national identity in European identity, any more than our local identities fade behind our national identity.” In Carcassonne in southern France, National Rally Mayor Christophe Barthès on Sunday filmed himself removing the EU flag from the balcony of the town hall and posted it on his X account. “Out with European flags at town hall! In with French flags,” he wrote. Bryan Masson, the newly elected mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, also in southern France, posted a photo of his office displaying a dozen French flags but no EU flag. And Carla Muti, mayor of Canohès, also posted a video of herself taking down an EU flag. Removing or replacing EU flags has become an established procedure among Euroskeptic leaders. When Poland’s right-wing Prime Minister Beata Szydło took office in 2015, she removed the EU flag from the backdrop of her government’s press room. Source link

‘Polexit’ now a real threat, Tusk warns – POLITICO

‘Polexit’ now a real threat, Tusk warns – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The warning comes after Nawrocki vetoed legislation on Thursday that would have allowed Poland to access up to €43.7 billion in low-interest EU defense loans. Tusk’s government lacks the parliamentary majority needed to override the veto, deepening uncertainty over how Poland will finance planned military spending that is set to reach nearly 5 percent of gross domestic product this year. Tusk has warned that Nawrocki’s veto could weaken Poland’s position inside the EU. On Friday, former PiS Europe Minister Konrad Szymański wrote in a newspaper commentary that Poland’s nationalist right was drifting onto a “road toward Polexit,” drawing parallels with the political dynamics that preceded Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the bloc. Recent polling suggests support for Poland’s quitting the EU remains weak in the country, but it is no longer marginal. Surveys indicate roughly one in 10 to one in four Poles would back launching an exit process, even as strong majorities still favor continued membership. Source link

Far-right AfD eyes court win as springboard for state elections in Germany – POLITICO

Far-right AfD eyes court win as springboard for state elections in Germany – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The AfD has shifted steadily rightward since its founding in 2013 as a Euroskeptic force, mobilizing an increasingly radicalized base largely around migration. Lately, however, Weidel has tried to tone down the rhetoric to make her party more palatable to mainstream conservatives. It is currently moving to ban Kevin Dorow, a board member of its youth organisation, for remarks that “obviously suggested a closeness to National Socialism”, Die Welt reported. The strategy could test the long-standing firewall that has kept Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right bloc from governing with the far right. A good electoral result in the state of Baden-Württemberg next week could signal that these efforts are paying off. AfD has not performed well historically in the southwestern state, and its candidates are currently polling in third with 19 percent, much higher than its nine percent result five years ago. The party also enjoys some momentum in Berlin, where an Insa survey put the AfD in second place with 17 percent — the first time the party has ranked so highly in the city-state, …

Europe’s year of existential risk – POLITICO

Europe’s year of existential risk – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Activists protest outside Downing street against the recent policies of Donald Trump. | Guy Smallman/Getty Images Meanwhile, European leaders will be forced to publicly ignore Washington’s support for far-right parties, which was clearly spelled out in the new U.S. national security strategy, while privately doing all they can to counter any antiestablishment backlash at the polls. Specifically, the upcoming election in Hungary will be a bellwether for whether the MAGA movement can tip the balance for its ideological affiliates in Europe, as populist, euroskeptic Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is currently poised to lose for the first time in 15 years. Orbán, for his part, has been frantically campaigning to boost voter support, signaling that he and his inner circle actually view defeat as a possibility. His charismatic rival Péter Magyar, who shares his conservative-nationalist political origins but lacks any taint of corruption poses a real challenge, as does the country’s stagnating economy and rising prices. While traditional electoral strategies — financial giveaways, smear campaigns and war fearmongering — have so far proven ineffective for Orbán, …

The Labour tribes shaping Britain’s Brexit reset – POLITICO

The Labour tribes shaping Britain’s Brexit reset – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

To Starmer’s left, backbench rebels including Richard Burgon and Dawn Butler backed the push toward a customs union by the opposition Lib Dems. The members of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group frame their argument around fears Labour will lose voters to other progressive parties, namely the Lib Dems, Greens and SNP, if they fail to show adequate bonds with Europe. Some other, more centrist MPs fear similar. Labour MPs with a military background or in military-heavy seats also want the U.K. and EU to cooperate further. London MP Calvin Bailey, who spent more than two decades in the Royal Air Force, endorsed closer security relations between Britain and France through greater intelligence sharing and possibly permanent infrastructure. Alex Baker, whose Aldershot constituency is known as the home of the British Army, backed British involvement in a global Defense, Security and Resilience Bank, arguing it could be key to a U.K.-EU Defence and Security Pact. The government opted against joining such a scheme.   Parliamentarians keen for young people to bag more traveling rights were buoyed by …