The Rise of the Far-right in the European Union: An Analysis from the European Parliament

This paper analyses the rise and success of far-right parties in European countries and at the European Parliament (EP) elections, by exploring the link between far-right parties and European ideology among their electorates. Within this context, the impact of the far-right on European identity is discussed and the close relation between euroscepticism and the far-right is exposed. The study argues that far-right parties possess democratic strong power because they actively contribute to the European debate through the EP resolutions and legislative procedures. The EP elections as well as the European Union (EU) opinion survey results are of reliable and significant importance to the study as they directly reflect the vision of their electorates. This democratic representation also grants the electorates and the political parties a legitimization of their Eurosceptic or anti-European policies. Both national and EP elections are empirically analysed through political and socio-economic perspectives, EU surveys data, unemployment and happiness index rates are also analysed through the study. In conclusion, the threats posed by far-right parties are exposed and recommendations are made for EU institutions and governments to overcome far-right’s exclusive rhetoric and address EU’s real issues to forge a more inclusive and realistic solution to the current socio-economic problems.