Thread by @tepsaeu

Our event coorganised with @parlamentoUE has just started streaming on YouTube!



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Our first speaker is @othmar_karas, Vice-President of the @Europarl_EN, who begins by highlighting that our new book "Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals" is "a very important document for our democratic debate on the Europe union"

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The book is edited by @_PaulSchmidt (our moderator this afternoon), @MichaelKaeding, and @JohannesPollak

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This is the first time a presentation of "Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals" is held with coordination from 4 EP Offices: Soain, Hungary, Italy, and France

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"For me, Europe stands for compromise, for understanding one another better [...] For me, Europe is a community of rule of law, of common values, of solidarity"

- @othmar_karas explains his philosophy and approach to the European project

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"I have a great hope for the #CoFoE, an open and transparent conversation with our European citizens [...] #CoFoE must involve the wide public, we are all in this together"

- @othmar_karas, Vice-President of the European Parliament

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"Europe was our vision in the past, Europe is our vision today, and Europe is our vision in the future"

- @othmar_karas ends his contribution to today's event

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A question from Hungary: "What are the reasons for the success of Brexit, why did it happen, and why did the EU not organise any effective counter-measures?"

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"Brexit shows us how elections can be won on the back of lies, without solving a single problem [...] the brexiteers dragged the UK into unprecedented political waters without thinking of how to get out of the political mess they had engineered"

- @othmar_karas

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"I sat next to Mr. Farage in the hemicycle. He always said he was playing a gam: FOR HIM, it was always better to blame the European Union"

- @othmar_karas expands on his answer to this first question from Hungary

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"It is not the time to answer with sanctions. The agreement must be a result of accepting the European rules and the European standards. If we have a #HardBrexit, the 'sanctions' are only the results of a self-imposed hard #Brexit"

- @othmar_karas

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.@othmar_karas wrote the foreword to the book "Euroscepticism and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals"

Three of our four discussants today wrote chapters in the book, and our moderator @_PaulSchmidt authored a chapter too!

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Our first discussant is @Poli_Eleonora from @IAIonline, discussing her analysis of Euroscepticism in Italy: has #Salvini saved Italy from himself?

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"The majority of Italians at the moment do not think the EU is helping Italy. Eurosceptic parties are building on this. #NextGenerationEU may change this, but we will need time"

- @Poli_Eleonora from @IAIonline

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"Many view Russia or China as allies, which is shocking given the level of solidarity shown in Europe throughout 2020. This is either poor communications from the EU, or good propaganda from Russia and China"

- @Poli_Eleonora from @IAIonline

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We now hear from IWE CERS's András Inotai, who will speak to the tension between a government with a strong anti-EU rhetoric and a population which is pro-EU in many ways

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"The book we have published is about #Euroscepticism and the #FutureofEurope on the basis of European elections: the results of the most recent elections is as valid today as it was before"

- András Inotai from IWE CERS, Hungary

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"There are two types of #Euroscepticism: those who think there is too much Europe, those who think there is too little Europe"

- András Inotai, during our event with @parlamentoUE

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"We find Euroscepticism on both sides of the political axis: La France Insoumise and Rassemblement National both did well as Eurosceptic forces in the 2019 EP elections"

- Gilles Ivaldi from CEVIPOF

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"Learn Macron goes with the big city electorate, whereas Le Pen goes for the countryside vote"

- Gilles Ivaldi from CEVIPOF

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"There is a deep, profound layer of political discountenance, very much exemplified by the Yellow Vest movement. Similarly, only about a third of French citizens are satisfied with the way democracy works at EU level"

- Gilles Ivaldi from CEVIPOF

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"If the #COVID19 crisis continues, people will get scared. If people get scared, they tend to congregate with mainstream parties. If they are angry, they go with extremes"

- Gilles Ivaldi from CEVIPOF

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"We have a deep, unprecedented, financial crisis, a strong terrorist threat that people link with immigration, and a surge of discontent. This is a breeding ground for a far-right surge in the upcoming 2022 elections"

- Gilles Ivaldi from CEVIPOF

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We now turn to @rielcano's @_ignaciomolina to elaborate on the the situation of #Euroscepticism in Spain

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"To understand Euroscepticism in Spain properly, first we must understand why politics is so confrontational"

- @_ignaciomolina from @rielcano

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"In the Spanish discourse, due to the country's 20th century history, to be 'European' is the solution to the problem, whether you are liberal or conservative. These different conceptions of 'Europeanness' leads to frustration"

- @_ignaciomolina from @rielcano

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"If there's one main takeaway today - and there are in fact many - it's that we must talk together, we must understand each other, in order to find a common way forward"

- @_PaulSchmidt our moderator this afternoon, begins to conclude the event

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That wraps up our joint event with @parlamentoUE, thanks to all of you who watched live on YouTube and who submitted your questions!

/ENDS

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