Concern over rise of nationalist parties in Europe

The eurozone crisis and growing concerns over migration are likely to result in significant gains for Europe's nationalist parties, a conference has heard.

Martyn Bond, the former chairman of the UK's European parliament office, told participants in the Parliament Magazine's Brussels spring briefing that Europe is "going to go through a terrible period", warning that "it will be nationalist parties all over the place that make gains".

"Even before the crisis, the right was on the rise in Europe, but the far-right has increased its role in recent years incredibly," he said.

Bond's comments came after Finland's nationalist True Finns party took around 19 per cent of the vote in the general election last month.

Timo Soini's True Finns, which could enter government, have been lobbying against Portugal's rescue package and do not support European bailouts for debt-stricken countries.

Elsewhere in Europe, a recent poll suggested that far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen is poised to beat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election.

Conservative MP Jonathan Evans, an ex-MEP and former leader of the Conservatives in the European parliament, spoke of the "political consequences" of turbulence in the world economy.

This, combined with the issue of migration, could mean that the "Finnish experience is repeated elsewhere", he warned.

Michael Shackleton, the head of the European parliament's information office in London was among the other speakers at the event, which brought together EU and UK policymakers, public affairs representatives and businesses.

He rejected the "apocalyptic vision that everything is falling apart", but warned, "This doesn't mean there won't be nasty nationalist parties."

Burson-Marsteller CEO David Earnshaw said these "very difficult times" would undoubtedly cause problems and called on participants to fight against a growing xenophobia.

"Today's anti-Europeanism is a fear of foreigners and a hatred of foreigners and we should all be against that," he said.

Growth and jobs

Speaking as Portugal became the third eurozone member to receive an EU-IMF bailout, Bond said that the eurozone crisis would "certainly continue to dominate things".

Andy Lebrecht, the UK's deputy permanent representative to the EU, said the "primary context in which the EU finds itself is the turbulence in the world economy and the impact that is having".

"The eurozone crisis continues to require immense amounts of attention and energy," he said, telling the audience, "Do not underestimate the critical importance in securing the eurozone.

"Promoting effective solutions both in solving sovereign debt problems [will help] ensure stability in the future."

He set out the key policy areas for the EU, including "copyright in the digital age", energy tax harmonisation and the "controversial" issue of a common corporate tax base.

"There is a need to reduce the regulatory burdens on small businesses," he said, adding that the EU should "vigorously" promote open markets and conclude trade deals with countries including India and Canada.

"Europe's continuing underperformance economically is reflected in the loss of competitiveness compared to emerging economies," Lebrecht added.

He spoke of discussions on the new EU budget post-2014, which are set to begin later this year. "The EU's budget negotiations are never easy and always messy," he said, warning that this time round they were likely to be "even messier and even harder".

Bond also raised the issue of the "ludicrously small" budget, which accounts for just one per cent of GDP. He claimed that money is "stupidly wasted", with most areas subject to "excessive financial controls".

"The nature of the budget is minute, and the way it's structured is not fit for purpose," he said. "[The budget] is lousily administered, half the rules are wrong and it needs a thorough overhaul."

Have your say...

Please enter your comments below.

Name

Your e-mail address

Listen to audio version

Please type in the letters or numbers shown above (case sensitive)