The Abduction of Europa: Europeanism and Euroscepticism in Greece, 1974–2015

Abstract

This chapter examines Greek Euroscepticism both at party and popular level from the country’s accession to the EC in 1981 to the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, by analysing the data from the biannual Eurobarometer surveys and the reading of parliamentary debates and the press. This diverse source base will allow the investigation of the forms through which the “framing” of Europe took place within the political and public discourse, and the impact the framing had on attitudes towards European integration. The interdisciplinary approach taken here will allow us to move beyond an interest-based approach and to investigate the diverse ways the EU was framed and understood as a political, cultural and economic project; how the EU gained and lost legitimacy; as well as the expectations and beliefs in the rise and fall of support for Greek EC membership.