British and Italian Euroskepticism Returns to the Fore

Over the weekend, two of Europe's largest Euroskeptic parties renewed their push against the European Union. On Oct. 12, Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party (better known as UKIP), said that he could support a Conservative government in exchange for holding a referendum on the United Kingdom's EU membership in 2015 instead of 2017. That same day, Beppe Grillo, the leader of Italy's Five Star Movement, announced that his party would start collecting signatures to hold a referendum on Italy's membership in the eurozone.

Although UKIP and the Five Star Movement differ in style and rhetoric, they are similar in that they challenge aspects of the process of European integration. Grillo's referendum will not be held because the Italian Constitution does not allow it, and a coalition between UKIP and the Conservative party seems unlikely. However, Euroskepticism will remain a strong political force in Europe as the continent moves toward more controls on immigration and greater political pressure against giving up national sovereignty to Brussels.