The Europragmatist
The Europragmatist Podcast
The Brussels paradox 👽
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The Brussels paradox 👽

How the EU is both popular and under scrutiny

Eurozone crisis 💶, covid-19 🦠, immigration crisis 🛥️, rise in right/left wing populism 🗳️, war in Ukraine 🔫 and now Donald Trump 🟠.

In the last decade, the EU has been through a lot. And yet, it enjoys historic levels of support.

According to the Eurobarometer of March 2025:

  • 74% of citizens believe their country benefits from EU membership 🇪🇺

  • 62% hope that the European Parliament will gain in importance 🏛️

  • Clear champion EU values are emerging — peace (45%), democracy (32%), and the protection of human rights (22%) 🏆

How, then, can we explain the paradox of the right-wing populist surge across the Union?

One explanation is the adaptation of their agenda. Aside from Germany's AfD, most right-wing populist parties now argue for EU reform rather than an EU exit.

And this might be the EU’s greatest victory: even its strongest critics can no longer imagine a world without it 🇪🇺💪


🎧 Listen to today’s podcast to discover more about this Brussels paradox.

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