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

Leruth, Benjamin

English

LSE Research Online

blo gs.lse.ac.ukhttp://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2013/02/12/eurosceptic-attitudes-nordic-countries-sweden-denmark-finland-iceland-norway/Cre d it: Dre ad  Pirate  Je ff (Cre ative  Co mmo ns BY NC ND)Eurosceptic attitudes are widespread in the Nordic states,but there is a high level of variation between countries.Blog AdminWhile 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 ourcollaborative project exploring contemporary Euroscepticism, Benjamin Leruth assessespublic opinion in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. He finds that attitudesvary significantly, with citizens tending to be particularly critical of European policies whichtheir country has opted out of. There also appears to be little public support for Iceland orNorway joining the EU in the near future. Throughout 2012, the growth of  Euroscepticism was a persistent theme. Indeed in the latestEurobarometer poll, only 31 to 33 per cent of  respondents indicated that they tend to trust the EuropeanUnion. Among those responses, it is possible to compare public support among the f ive Nordic States:Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. While these countries are commonly considered as abloc with similar socio-cultural and polit ical values, they have all opted f or a dif f erent level of  Europeanintegration.DenmarkDenmark joined the European Community in 1973, and has had no less than six ref erendums on issuesrelated to European integration since 1972, the last one being held in 2000 on adopting the singlecurrency. Two out of  those six ref erendums saw a victory f or the “no” side (Maastricht and the adoptionof  the euro). Following the outcome of  the Maastricht ref erendum, Denmark negotiated opt-outs f romthe Maastricht Treaty through the Edinburgh Agreement.Interestingly enough, recentEurobarometer results show thatDanes are not among the strongestEurosceptics within the EU. Indeed, inNovember 2012, 48 per cent ofrespondents claimed that they tend totrust the European Union, whichcorresponds to 15 per cent more thanthe EU average. This trend isconf irmed by previous Eurobarometerresults, and in 2009, 65 per cent of  therespondents said that Denmark’smembership to the EU is a good thing,ranking the country among the mostposit ive EU member states.However, Danes are much more crit icalregarding specif ic policy areas such asthe EMU (30 per cent in f avour, in comparison to 53 per cent in f avour f or the whole of  the EU) and acommon f oreign policy (46 per cent, against 64 per cent f or the whole of  the EU). Contrary to Denmark’spolit ical situation, 60 per cent of  respondents are in f avour of  the Common Security and Def ence Policy(CSDP) among EU member states, despite the country opting out of  the CSDP through the EdinburghAgreement.FinlandFinland joined the European Union in 1995 af ter 56.9 per cent of  the population voted in f avour of  EUmembership. In contrast to Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Finland does not have a “ref erendumtradition”. The country is the most integrated Nordic state, and is thus considered as less resistant toEuropean integration than its Scandinavian neighbours.Eurobarometer results tend to show that the Finnish population is actually more Eurosceptic than thosein Denmark. Indeed, in November 2012, 47 per cent of  respondents said they tend to trust the EU, atrend that has remained quite stable f or the past three years. Regarding the benef its of  EU membership,the Finnish population is much more sceptical: between 2000 and 2009, 37 to 51 per cent of  respondentsbelieved that Finland’s membership is good f or their country: results that were generally below Sweden,Denmark and the EU average throughout these years.The Finnish population is currently the most posit ive towards Economic and Monetary Union, with 76 percent of  respondents being in f avour of  this policy area. As Finland is the only Nordic state which hasadopted the single currency, it is no surprise to see such a dif f erence f rom attitudes in the other NordicEU states, Denmark and Sweden. Just as it is the case f or Denmark and Sweden, the Finnish populationis opposed to a common f oreign policy (41 per cent are in f avour). Finally, respondents seem moresceptical towards the development of  a Common Security and Def ence Policy (with 52 per cent in f avour)than the EU average (73 per cent in f avour).IcelandIceland applied f or EU membership f or the f irst t ime during its history in 2009, and accessionnegotiations are still underway. Currently, Iceland’s relationship with the European Union is mostlyshaped through the European Economic Area (EEA) and Schengen agreements. As a non-member state,data available through Eurobarometer polling is less extensive; however, it is possible to analyse trendsregarding public support f or EU membership.Recent opinion polls suggest that less than a third of  the Icelandic population is in f avour of  EUmembership. This trend is conf irmed by data available in the latest Eurobarometer: 26 per cent ofrespondents believe that Iceland’s membership would be a good thing, 33 per cent believe that Icelandwould benef it f rom joining the EU and 34 per cent trust the European Union. Since the Icelandicgovernment submitted the application, public support has declined drastically and it is expected that therelationship with the European Union will be a major issue during the upcoming parliamentary elections,which will be held in April.NorwaySimilarly to Iceland, Norway is not a member of  the European Union; however, the country has applied onthree separate occasions f or EU membership. In 1972 and 1994, the population rejected EC/EUmembership with 53.5 and 52.2 per cent of  the electorate voting ‘no’. Norway still remains a close partnerof  the European Union, mostly through the EEA and Schengen agreements. Since the 1994 ref erendum,the issue of  EU membership has remained largely of f  the agenda. Public support f or EU membership isvery low: in July 2012, 17.2 per cent of  respondents to a national survey said they would vote in f avourof  EU membership, with 74.8 per cent against. This illustrates why EU membership is not discussed in thepolit ical sphere: ef f ectively, since 1994, government coalit ion agreements include a “suicide clause” onthe EU question.SwedenSweden has been a member of  the European Union since 1995: in the 1994 ref erendum on EUmembership, 52.3 per cent of  the population voted ‘yes’. The country has negotiated an inf ormal opt-outof  the Eurozone by not joining ERM II. In 2003, when the population was asked whether Sweden shouldjoin the Economic and Monetary Union, 55.9 per cent voted against. As a result, Sweden’s de f acto opt-out remained in place.The latest Eurobarometer poll suggests that 33 per cent of  Swedes trust the European Union, whichcorresponds to the EU average. In 2009, 57 per cent of  respondents said that Sweden’s membership isgood f or the country. As expected f ollowing the 2003 ref erendum, the most “Eurosceptic” result isrelated to Economic and Monetary Union: only 23 per cent of  respondents are in f avour of  EMU. Recentnational surveys show more crit ical results: 82.3 per cent of  the population opposes EMU membership,while the situation was even more negative in 2009. Furthermore, only 37 per cent of  respondents are inf avour of  a common f oreign policy, and 54 per cent are in f avour of  the CSDP. Both results are largelybelow the EU average.ConclusionsEuroscepticism is a highly complex concept, which covers many aspects that are not outlined inEurobarometer polls or other surveys. In order to explain why mass Euroscepticism is higher in Norwayor Iceland f or instance, many f actors should be considered such as economic incentives to join, socio-economic cleavages between the EU and the state, or cultural particularism.Nevertheless, it is possible to draw some broad conclusions f rom the above discussion. First, issues ofsovereignty and self -determination seem to shape public opinion on European issues. Eurobarometerresults indicate that this is the case f or the three EU Nordic states (e.g. public support f or a commonf oreign policy and the CSDP), while several studies have shown that national sovereignty played a keyrole in the 1994 ref erendum in Norway. Second, Nordic populations seem to have crit ical views onpolicies they opted out f rom. The only exception to that rule would be the Danes’ perception of  theCSDP. Third, even though Finland is the most integrated Nordic state, the Finnish population is morecrit ical than its EU neighbours regarding the benef its of  EU membership. Finally, current trends show thatdue to low levels of  public support, Iceland’s accession to the EU is unlikely to happen in the short term._This post is part of a collaboration between British Politics andPolicy, EUROPP and Ballots & Bullets, which aims to examine thenature of euroscepticism in the UK and abroad from a widerange of perspectives. Read more posts from this series._Please read our comments policy before commenting.Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not theposition of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor of theLondon School of Economics.Shortened URL for this post: http://bit .ly/12nId42 _________________________________About the authorBenjamin Leruth – University of EdinburghBenjamin Leruth is a PhD student at the School of  Polit ics and International Relations, atthe University of  Edinburgh. His research f ocuses on the relations between the EuropeanUnion and the Nordic States. He is a guest researcher at the ARENA Centre f or EuropeanStudies (University of  Oslo).Related posts:1. Mainstream parties in the Nordic countries have tried to deal with the rise of  the f ar-right through amix of  isolation, tolerance and even collaboration. (16.5)2. Media coverage of  the European Union is key to understanding eurosceptic att itudes within theUK. (10.6)3. European leaders must be wary of  rising Eurosceptic populism f rom both the right and the lef t.(8.3)

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

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