Consistent across levels? Comparing the oppositional behaviour of Eurosceptic and Europhile parties in the European and National Parliaments

The present study seeks to contribute to the literature on party behaviour in the EU multilevel system by comparing political opposition in the European and the national parliaments. It breaks new ground by examining if the oppositional behaviour of Eurosceptic and Europhile parties across levels is consistent. The empirical analysis utilizes an original dataset of more than 5200 statements from plenary debates in the EP and in the legislatures of one former and five current member states: Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Our results show that the oppositional behaviour of both types of parties is inconsistent across levels. Eurosceptic parties express significantly more opposition in the national parliament than in the EP, whereas Europhile parties express significantly more opposition in the EP than in national parliaments.