Euroscepticism rising across continent – the 10 nations putting EU in danger

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Recent elections suggest that the EU is not gaining popularity on the continent

Voters across Europe are rejecting the EU’s principles and policies in favour of more populist ideals – and fears in Brussels that Brexit could prompt a wave of anti-EU feeling appear to have been realised.

The Czech Republic became the latest EU country to turn on Brussels this weekend after Andrej Babis, a eurosceptic, anti-immigration, pro-Russian billionaire, won the leadership election.

Mr Babis, who has been described as the ‘Czech Donald Trump’, won 29.6 per cent of the vote at the weekend, or 78 out of 200 seats in the lower house, in a result that no doubt sent shockwaves through Brussels.

Meanwhile the rightwing, anti-immigration Freedom and Direct Democracy party, which wants to quit the EU and stop the ‘Islamisation of the Czech Republic’, won more than 10 per cent of the vote and could become a coalition partner of the new leader in a move which would show a clear turn away from the EU in Prague.

Despite the deadlock between both sides of the Brexit debate and repeated threats about the eye-watering divorce bill Brussels expects Britain to pay, it appears the UK’s decision to leave has not prompted the remaining 27 EU members to come together in support of the bloc.

While leaders across the continent try to adopt a united front, voters continue to express their dismay at the European Union with increasing numbers opting for Eurosceptic and populist parties.

Last month, the rightwing AfD party surged to third place in the German election, taking 13 per cent of the vote and marking the first time in almost 60 years that an openly nationalist party has secured seats in the Bundestag.

Neighbouring Austria has also made its anti-EU feelings known, electing 31-year-old eurosceptic Sebastian Kurz to become the country’s new chancellor.

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Mr Kurz’s party, the Austrian People’s Party (OVP), is poised to form a coalition with the second-placed, far-right nationalist party, the Freedom Party (FPO), in a move that could put the country’s national leadership at odds with the Brussels elite.

The elections of Mr Kurz and Mr Babis represent a growing trend of the smaller member states hitting out at EU leaders after growing frustrated at being ignored by the Brussels hierarchy.

Elections in France and the Netherlands earlier in 2017 saw anti-EU candidates Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders come close to snatching the leadership and both continue to represent formidable threats to their respective governments.

Meanwhile major rifts have emerged between Poland and the EU after the election of president Andrzej Duda in 2015, who won the vote after backing a range of conservative family value while backing policies concerning fears about immigration and Russia.

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Italy’s Five Star Movement could be the next party to threaten an EU exit

Earlier this year, the Polish government’s plans to overhaul the country’s justice system were panned by Brussels, prompting a war of words between officials and threatening to reduce relations to a state of disrepair.

In Hungary, anti-immigration leader Viktor Orban has been among the EU’s staunchest critics and his decision to build a wall along Hungary’s Serbian border to keep migrants out was condemned by the EU.

Anti-EU sentiments appear to have found an audience in Hungary, with Mr Orban set to face competition from the far-right MSZP party when the country goes to the polls next year.

While Serbia is not an EU member, its aspiration to join the bloc appears to have been weakened by the EU’s recent handling of the Catalonia crisis.

The country’s pro-EU leader, Aleksandar Vučić, accused Brussels of hypocrisy and double standards over its very different attitude to separatist crises in Kosovo and Catalonia.

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Victories for eurosceptics Sebastian Kurz (L) & Andrej Babis have become the latest EU headache

Serbia also maintains strong ties with Moscow and refused to enact sanctions on Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

In Scandinavia, anti-immigration movements including the Sweden Democrats and the True Finns are threatening to upset northern Europe’s relations with Brussels.

Finally, Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement could represent the biggest threat to the EU. With the country set to go to the polls next year, Five Star Movement is leading the way as the country’s most popular party and plans to ditch the euro are likely to serious concerns among EU leaders.

There are also concerns about internal separatist movements with Lombardy and Veneto, two of Italy’s richest regions, planning Catalonia-style referendums to demand more control over policy and finances.