Стр. 5 - V

Author : V. Olenchenko
Senior Research Associate, Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy
of Sciences, Candidate of Science (Law)
THE BAFFLED European and international media
described the results of the May 2014 elections to the
European Parliament as revolutionary. On the eve,
there had been a lot of talk that the traditional parlia-
mentary majority could be pushed aside; immediately
after the elections, the result looked as a political earth-
quake of sorts.
The press and political analysts concentrate at the
stunning success of the French Front National (FN)
and the British United Kingdom Independence Party
(UKIP). They gained more votes than the leading parties which represent the political images of
their respective countries to the rest of the world. The world was even more interested in their lead-
ers - Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage in Britain - two charismatic persons who attracted
voters and even opponents by enthusiasm and charm.
In other countries the victory of Eurosceptics was less stunning yet equally baffling: they got enough
to win seats in the parliament.
It is wrong, however, to describe Euroscepticism as a novel phenomenon: Eurosceptics were rep-
resented in the European Parliament; perceived as a boring minority they were practically excluded
from parliamentary activities. Today, Eurosceptics and allied deputies account, according to different
sources, for one-third of the total number of deputies.
It was people, not factors, who came to the polls in May 2014 and opened the doors of the European
Parliament to Eurosceptics.
The results of European elections can be discussed in the European and national contexts, that is,
we are either interested in the number of Eurosceptics in the European Parliament, their quality
and quantity and an ability to influence the parliament or in their popularity at home to correlate it
with the degrees of popularity of other parties to trace down the dynamics of changes.
When seen from the point of view of their national affiliation the Eurosceptics present an interesting
object of study: in each of 28 EU member-states Euroscepticism may have a distinctive regional or
national dimension.
So far, the Eurosceptics, either deliberately or intuitively, are seeking alliance on geographical or his-
torical principles. Eurosceptics from the south of Europe tend to the FN to a much greater extent
than their colleagues from the continent's north.
Their positions on the Ukrainian crisis, which has already complicated the relationships between
Russia and the EU, are very important: they might either create a more favorable atmosphere in the
RF-EU relations or widen the split. There are signs, however, that the EU is gradually moving toward
common sense.
http://interaffairs.ru
The European Parliament: Eurosceptics on the March