EU Skepticism Holding Firm

February 13, 2004

Swedish national economist Nils Lundgren has managed to attract a number of candidates to start a new political party of EU skeptics. The party will be known as the Junilistan ("The June List") in reference to the election of EU Parliament members in June. As promised, Junilistan candidates have been drawn from across the political spectrum. Candidates within other parties are also presenting their EU-skeptic credentials.

A primary objective for many EU skeptics is to require a public referendum to test any future proposal for an EU constitution. A proposal that would have granted nearly unlimited power to the European Commission was defeated last year.

A poll conducted for TV4 News and Expressen during the last week of January showed that forty-two percent of Swedes support the idea of a new party created specifically to preserve states' rights. One quarter of those surveyed expressed interest in voting for such a party. No measurement was taken of those who expect defense of states' rights within existing parties.

A referendum on the EMU failed last year. Surveys at the polls showed strong opposition to the wholesale transfer of power to Brussels. In a new poll by Sifo for the news agency TT, the number of Swedes who would vote against the EMU today has increased to 58 percent from 56 percent. Only 35 percent would vote yes, compared to 42 percent at the time the referendum was held. 6 percent are uncertain.

The new party will face competition from existing parties. EU critic Sören Wibe has built a network of EU skeptics within the Social Democratic Labour Party, the largest political party in Sweden. Social Democrat and EU critic Anna Hedh has called for replacement of party leader Göran Persson, currently the Prime Minister, before the national election in 2006. Prime Minister Persson supported the EMU along with the leaders of three right wing parties.

The two far left parties that share power with the Social Democrats in the current coalition government opposed the EMU and have acted as leaders in the drive to preserve local power.

Leaders of right-wing parties generally see themselves as less vulnerable than the Social Democrats, emphasizing their long-standing opposition to over-regulation by the EU and even within the state. They see membership in the EMU as a special case, essential to successful economic integration, that should be viewed as a positive step. But an education campaign shortly before last year's referendum failed to turn the tide.

The next hurdle faced by Junilistan is the accumulation of 1,500 signatures on a petition, required for registration in the June election. With such strong public support, success in this phase seems a foregone conclusion. Party organizers have begun by calling on a broad coalition of EU skeptics who opposed the EMU whose names they have on a contact list.