Cécile Leconte

With the enlargement of the EU agenda, an increasing number of actors contest the legitimacy of EU-level decisions in policy areas where ethical preferences are at stake. This discourse, which is articulated by mainstream political parties and civil society actors, represents a new type of political contestation in the Union.

With the mainstreaming of Euroscepticism within established parties, the EU is facing a new challenge: that of soft Eurosceptic governments landing in the rotating presidency’s seat. Albeit not opposing the EU as such, these governments wish to put a brake on developments in further integration and challenge the EU informal norms of legitimacy and expected behaviour. On the basis of

... As the subsequent section shows, this mainstream side of the ÖVP/FPÖ coalition in the 'EU political space' is one of the main reasons why EU leaders were not able to pursue a consequent policy with the sanctions. The Debate ...