Hannibal ad portas? Dismantling Euroscepticism

Hannibal ad portas? Dismantling Euroscepticism

Apostolos Samaras

Attorney at Law,
LLM - PhD Candidate in European Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Will Euroscepticism constitute the “Achilles' heel” of the European Union (EU)? This article examines the state of the European integration by shedding light on the anti-EU rhetoric and the rising Far-Right in Europe. During the last decade, the EU had to cope with the economic crisis, the refugee drama, the prospective withdrawal of the UK, the Catalan independence referendum, the terrorist attacks, the challenges to the rule of law, the general political-institutional mistrust, the modern populism, the fake news and so on. The current European instability has become a serious challenge, while the ‘Two-Speed Europe Concept’ evolved into a quite controversial debate. However, the autonomy and the aims of the Union’s legal order remain key factors in resolving the political, economic and social problems of the Member States. To fight the re-emergence of political isolationism a radical reform plan is needed, a new political direction of substantial solidarity and prosperity.