From protest to power, Euroscepticism and the far right are reshaping Europe’s political soul, challenging integration, redefining sovereignty, and forcing a critical rethinking of the European Union’s future foreign policy. The rise of far-right political parties across Europe has also managed to lure back European societies with their populist-cum-Eurosceptic rhetoric.
The word “Far Right” was once considered taboo in European societies, courtesy of troubled European history. The end of WWI, the rise of Benito Mussolini in Rome, and the election of Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany were the beginning of the rise of far-right political parties in Europe. The unjust policies taken by those leaders, both at home and abroad, still leave a bad memory and horror in the minds of not only Europeans but the whole world. The defeat of Adolf Hitler in WWII signaled the defeat and rejection of this far-right ideology. However, the far-right populism continued to exist secretly for decades, and now the contemporary European politics is again witnessing the rebirth of far-right politics in Europe, with far-right parties as the main supporters of the Euroscepticism movement.
These right-wing political parties are gaining popularity in many European countries with a common election rhetoric of anti-immigration, economic populism, and Euroscepticism. The 2025 presidential election in Poland was won by Karol Nawrocki’s Law and Justice (PiS), and Konfederacja pushes nationalism and far-right economic policies in Poland. Similarly, Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO), led by President Herbert Kickl, also won the 2024 general elections with an election rhetoric of “remigration” of the migrants to a homogenous society, the rhetoric supported by 28.4% of the Austrian people. Moreover, the far-right Chega party of Portugal also secured 18% of the seats in the March 2024 elections, making it the third-largest political party in the assembly.
Furthermore, the far-right party Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) also won 37 out of 150 seats in the 2023 elections in the Netherlands. The PVV, led by Geert Wilders, is also a strong advocate of anti-immigration, right-wing populism, opposition to Islam, and Euroscepticism. His radical views on Islamophobia and Euroscepticism have made him a controversial figure in the Netherlands and abroad. Interestingly, he has been provided with high-profile armed security since 2004. In this context, one of the members of the P5, France, is no exception. The popularity of far-right political parties continues to rise in Paris, courtesy of Marine Le Pen, who obtained 23.2% of the votes in the 2022 presidential elections. Likewise, in Sweden, the anti-immigration Sverigedemokraterna Party (Sweden Democrats), founded in 1988, has become the largest member of Sweden’s right-wing bloc and the second-largest party in the Riksdag.
The main factors that have contributed to the rise of far-right political parties include the large influx of migrants from the global south, which led to the economic crisis and the debate over border closure. Far-right parties often pitch anti-immigrant rhetoric in the elections to gain electoral support from the masses. Blaming foreigners for economic inefficiencies in their respective countries has become a new norm in Europe. However, despite their like-mindedness on several issues such as economic populism, anti-immigration, Islamophobia, and Euroscepticism, the far-right groups of Europe differ in one of the main categories: hard and soft Euroscepticism.
As the name suggests, the distinction between hard and soft Euroscepticism implies opposition to the EU of varying intensity. Hard Eurosceptic advocates oppose the European Union and its continued integration and even desire to dissolve the EU as a regional entity. The campaign of hard Euroscepticism is characterized by socialist, capitalist, neoliberal, or bureaucratic EU rhetoric. Contrary to hard Euroscepticism, soft Euroscepticism considers integration in some policy areas as a conflict with the national interest of the country. These parties support the very existence of the EU but oppose further integration. For instance, these groups support integration in monetary areas but oppose assimilation in immigration-led areas.
The prime example of hard Euroscepticism is Brexit (British Exit), which took place on January 31, 2020. The Euroscepticism movement in the UK was led by Nigel Farage and his party, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). Revisiting the EU history, the UK has also been found reluctant to the idea of inclusive integration, citing its state of Pax Britannica. Even the UK opposed the full integration of the EU prior to its formation. The former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady of Britain, once addressed the British Parliament and said that “the President of the Commission, Mr. Delors, said at a press conference the other day that he wanted the European Parliament to be the democratic body of the Community, he wanted the Commission to be the Executive, and he wanted the Council of Ministers to be the Senate. No. No. No.”
Against this backdrop, the UK withdrew its EU membership in 2020, which created fear among its members of a domino effect. However, Brexit has limited effect on Eurosceptic sentiment in Europe and remains dependent on the short- and long-term effects of the circumstances. If the UK proves successful in standing outside the EU coalition, other member countries will likely follow the lead of Britain and adopt hard Euroscepticism. In contrast, if Brexit turns out to be a failure, then it will allow soft Eurosceptic leaders to continue to support their respective integration with the EU, which seems to be a prevalent policy of the European leaders. The recent surveys conducted by the Eurobarometer show the trust of the member countries in the EU, citing some of the statistics, such as 55% of Europeans are optimistic about the EU, and 47% continue to have a positive image of the EU. On the contrary, only 21% of Europeans have a negative and 30% have a neutral image of the European Union.
To conclude, the future of the EU is directly proportional to the rise of far-right political parties and nationalist movements in Europe. The continuation of the far-right trend might lead to isolationist, protectionist, nationalist, and Eurosceptic policies, which are apparently detrimental to the inclusive integration of the EU. Moreover, the rise of the far-right political parties practicing hard Eurosceptic policies also depends on the success of Brexit and several other factors, such as immigration flow, economic situation, xenophobia, and the future of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, without a doubt, the rise of far-right political parties has created a massive challenge for EU integration, which requires careful analysis and a strong response from the member countries.