Eurosceptic attitudes are widespread in the Nordic states, but there is a high level of variation between countries

While the United Kingdom has been the focus for most discussions about Euroscepticism, citizens in the Nordic states have also displayed notable Eurosceptic attitudes.As part of our collaborative project exploring contemporary Euroscepticism, Benjamin Leruth assesses public opinion in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. He finds that attitudes vary significantly, with citizens tending to be particularly critical of European policies which their country has opted out of. There also appears to be little public support for Iceland or Norway joining the EU in the near future

Iceland’s election: the Pirates failed to live up to expectations, but this was still a landmark result

Iceland held elections on 29 October which were called after the country’s government was caught up in the Panama Papers scandal earlier this year. Benjamin Leruth assesses the results, noting that the Pirate Party, who had at one stage led the polling, failed to live up to expectations by finishing with the third highest vote share. Nevertheless, the election underlined the change in the Icelandic party system that has occurred since the financial crisis and could potentially reignite the country’s debate over its relationship with the EU

Iceland’s election results are not a vote against the EU

The weekend’s election in Iceland saw a shift to the right for the country, and substantial gains for the Independence Party, which is against joining the EU. Reflecting on the election results Benjamin Leruth argues that despite reluctance from the two winning parties, an EU referendum may still be on the cards for Iceland as a majority of the population still supports accession talks

Experimental differentiation as an innovative form of cooperation in the European Union:Evidence from the Nordic Battlegroup

This article focuses on the use of experimental differentiation, a form of small-scale pilot program that aims at testing whether further institutional integration can be bolstered in an area where cooperation has not been tested or proven. Experimental differentiation consists of three features. Firstly, participation should not be constrained by membership in the European Union. Secondly, experimental differentiation should consist of short-term projects. Thirdly, the functional scope of such experiments should be clearly limited to reduce the expected political costs of participation. Empirically, this article focuses on the EU Battlegroups and analyzes how the above-mentioned features drove political actors to support participation. While EU Battlegroups have been criticized for their lack of effective action and the political and financial costs they entail, this article offers a more positive feature, arguing that Battlegroups should be seen as experiments that lead reluctant political actors to consider their cooperation under the EU framework

The Panama Papers could bring down Iceland’s government and bring the Pirate Party to power

The leak of several million confidential documents created by the corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca – the so called ‘Panama Papers’ – has particular implications for Iceland, with the country’s Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Minister of the Interior all linked to the affair. Benjamin Leruth writes that the government is now under severe pressure to call early elections which could well bring the Icelandic Pirate Party to power

As questions abound about the monarchy’s role, Belgium’s new King Philippe must now convince the public of his legitimacy and credibility.

On Sunday, King Albert II of Belgium abdicated in favour of his son, Crown Prince Philippe. Benjamin Leruth looks at the challenges facing the new king in the lead up to 2014’s ‘meta-elections’, that will see Belgians go to the regional, federal and European polls. He writes that while King Philippe is now more popular than he was in previous years, partially from his own efforts to win popularity, a growing Republican movement ahead of the elections may pose a challenge for the new king

The UK’s renegotiation proposal: a good compromise, but much needs to be done to convince voters

A draft proposal for the UK’s renegotiation of its EU membership was published on 2 February. Benjamin Leruth assesses whether the proposal meets the goals set out in David Cameron’s letter to Donald Tusk in November. He writes that while in principle the key aims set out by Cameron have been met, there remains a long way to go before a final deal can be secured with all of the EU’s member states